Forever Holding On
by YouBuyMeOrangeJuice
Summary: "Love is a growing up." - James A. Baldwin. Takes place about two months after "We're Never Done With Killing Time." Gail and Holly being...Gail and Holly. Appearances by your favorite Rookie Blue-ers. "Steve's voice was soft and calm. His closed lip smile spoke more than his words. He quickly removed his feet from the guardrail of the hospital bed and rose from his chair."
1. Chapter 1: Here Not Gone

**A/N: Hey there. As you probably read in the description this is the ****sequel/part 2 of my first fic _We're Never Done With Killing Time_. It's probably not necessary to read it in order to be able to enjoy this story, and I'll try my best to write so that it's not, but if you want to check it out hop on over to my author's profile! This picks up about two months after _Killing Time_ wrapped up, so we're talking super late September 2014. Without further ado...**

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><p>"He's making eye contact and," Gail gestured indignantly with her drink as she tightened her grip around the glass, "laughing too hard." Gail's gaze had honed in on the bar and wasn't about to waver. Her eyes were focussed like lasers even as she reached to her left and stole a french fry off of Traci's plate.<p>

Traci snorted, "he doesn't have the balls." Steve quickly shook his head from side to side, silently urging Traci not to go down that path. She shrugged and smiled nonchalantly, "all I'm sayin' is, someone's got a crush."

"So, uh," Dov winced, pulling out another trivia card from the stack, eager to divert Gail's attention, "next question," his voice was a little louder and cheerier than was warranted. "Gail, you're up," Dov placed his elbows on the table and turned to his left, looking her square in the eye, "you ready, Peck?" She ignored him, and stared straight through Chris when he started waving his hand in and out of her line of vision. Her mouth was slightly agape as she brought the glass to her lips slowly and methodically without averting her gaze from the bar. Dov was determined though, and continued on, "who won the-"

Gail cut him off, sounding socked and appalled, "he just looked at her _lips_," she gestured with her glass again before draining it. "He lip looked her," Gail rose from her chair quickly but graciously, it was like she was sitting, and then was standing instantaneously. Chris, Dov, Steve, and Traci all looked from the bar, to Gail, then to one another, knowing something was about to go down. Steve took another sip of his beer and leaned back in his chair, settling in to what was sure to be a good show. Gail stalked around the empty chair, passed Dov, and passed the other empty chair.

Chris raised a finger as she approached him on her way to the bar, "Gail, I'm sure-" but he was silenced by a palm covering his face.

"Shut it, Diaz," she breezed right past him without removing her eyes from the bar.

Traci chuckled from deep in her belly, "five bucks says he doesn't survive."

Dov cocked his head to the side, furrowed his brow, and pointed at Traci with his trivia card, "define 'survive,'" he challenged her.

"Five bucks says he leaves in ten minutes, tail between his legs," Traci clarified, throwing a five onto the table.

Steve reached into his wallet and pulled out a ten, "my money's on five," he wagered confidently.

Dov seemed to have been pondering the situation carefully and tossed a ten into the pile, "seven," he sounded confident, "including a 'bathroom break.'"

"No way," Chris shook his head, throwing five onto the table, "straight out the door. I'm talking from experience." He nodded and took a sip of his beer; he had been on Gail's shit list before.

"Ooo what are we betting on?" Chloe slid into her seat in between Dov and Chris, wearing a big smile.

Traci nodded her head over to Gail, "how long it takes for Hamilton to run out of here."

"Oh snap," Chloe giggled, noticing how nervous the rookie looked. She pulled a twenty out of her pocket, "dude downs his drink, goes straight to the bathroom, slinks out the back, _and_ Jackson follows him out." Chloe smiled slyly as everyone looked at her with baffled expressions, "what? I notice things," she shrugged and took a sip of her drink.

Gail walked through the thin crowd with complete tunnel vision. She weaved around other patrons, tables, and chairs with expert precision. She walked tall, confidently poised. She smiled but kept her lips closed as she approached the pair at the bar. "Helloooo," Gail greeted cheerily. Well, cheerily for Gail. She nodded at the bartender as she placed her glass on the bar top, digging into it with her stomach, "can I have another?" Gail flipped around on the bar so she was now leaning on it with her back, her elbows resting on the polished wood. "Are they slaughtering the cow out back or something?"

Holly chuckled, "ah I don't think so, but the bun better be fresh out of the oven for how long it's taking." She raised her eyebrows before continuing, "Officer Hamilton here was just telling me about the bakery you all busted this afternoon."

"Yeah, well," Gail sighed, "they were getting baked more often then they were actually baking." She swiveled her neck to the right and looked Hamilton dead in the eyes, "weren't they, Hamilton?"

"Yeah," he laughed nervously, "more adjective than verb, if ya know what I mean."

Gail narrowed her eyes and shook her head at him. 'Lame joke,' she said in her head.

"Uh, ya know, because 'baked' describes them more than they were _actually _baking," he immediately took a sip of his beer hoping to wash away some of the awkwardness.

"Nice try, buddy," Gail said as she turned around once more to collect her, now replenished, drink. She turned into Holly, got on her tiptoes, and lightly pinched Holly's shirt by her bellybutton while whispering in her ear, "I absolutely adore you." Gail gave her a quick peck on the cheek before letting her heels meet the floor again. "Extra pickles," she said, pointing at Holly with her drink as she backed away to their table, "don't let them forget."

"That didn't look that bad," Dov shrugged, "kinda hard to tell from here though."

"I don't _know,_" Traci swirled her drink around, "he jumbles his words _so_ easily, he's usually one inch away from shoving his foot in his mouth," her voice was laced with pity. "Kinda like Chris!" she pointed out while laughing.

"Gee, _thanks_ Trace," Chris leaned forward in his chair. "Chloe can you just answer the question already?"

Chloe snapped her gaze from the bar back to the table, "sorry, what was it again?"

Steve cleared his throat and read off the card for the third time, "what is the only country of Central America which has no contact with the Pacific Ocean?" Steve really wasn't a fan of trivia, he could have gotten behind police trivia though; he would kick ass at that.

"Oh! That's easy," Chloe smiled. "Belize!" she exclaimed. It's not that she had needed time to think about it, she just really hadn't been listening the first two times Steve read the question off.

Steve saw Gail approaching and slyly swept the pile of cash into his hand and placed it on his knee, under the table.

"Hello, mortals," Gail offered as a greeting as she took her seat next to Traci.

Everyone looked around the table at each other nervously, that is, everyone except Gail.

"_What!"_ She spat.

Steve smiled, "well, we uh," he gestured around the table, "all just want to know if the rook over there shit his pants or not," Steve's smile doubled in size as Gail narrowed her eyes at him.

"Dov, your turn!" Chris cut in quickly, "which athlete, born in 1904, won five Olympic gold medals and set sixty-seven world records for swimming? He later played 'Tarzan' in numerous jungle adventure films."

Gail rolled her eyes, this was _so _stupid. She would have flushed Dov's trivia cards down the toilet months ago if Holly didn't think it was fun. At least she could get a little drunk.

Dov pondered the question for a few moments before answering, "Mark Spitz?"

"Mark Spitz was _not_ born in 1904," Gail rolled her eyes. She definitely didn't know who this Tarzan swimmer was, but she _did_ know he was old enough to be Mark Spitz's grandfather.

"Well, I don't _know_," Dov hissed, putting the edges of both his hands on the table, "he was the only swimmer I could think of!" Another reason Gail hated playing trivia with Dov; he got _so_ worked up. Jeez.

"Woah, down trivia boy," Holly placed the burger and fries in front of Gail, "do I need to separate you two?" Holly took her seat between Dov and Gail, looking back and forth between the pair.

"You, kinda just did," Chris added with a laugh as he leaned back in his chair.

Gail quickly grabbed a fry and stuffed it into her mouth, cocking her head to the side and batting her eyelashes at Holly, "have I told you lately that I love you?"

"That's really charming you know?" Holly motioned to the half chewed food in Gail's mouth.

She smiled and swallowed, "what's the knife for?" Gail asked as she let the large steak knife flop around between her fingers.

Holly raised her eyebrows, "you said we were _sharing_ it."

Gail smiled guiltily, "good luck with that."

"Oh yeah?" Holly challenged, leaning forward while resting her wrist on the chair's back.

When Gail just nodded with the same expression on her face Holly quickly slid the plate away from Gail and took a big bite out of the burger, "mmm extra pickles too," she moaned through a full mouth.

"Hey!" Gail was scandalized. It was pretty common knowledge that if you took Gail's food without express written consent you should expect a fork to the eye. That is, unless you were Holly.

She held the burger in her two hands and nodded toward the bar, "you can order your own, I hear they're slaughtering the cows fresh outside." Holly took another bite and smiled through her full mouth.

"_Fine_," Gail groaned as she handed the handle of the knife to Holly.

"Okay Gail, it's your turn!" Chloe was doing that thing where she bounces in her chair again.

Gail waved her off, "I'm not playing while I'm eating."

"Fine by me," Dov declared, "you're just losing points."

"I don't really care, Mr. Trivia," she spat through a full mouth. It was true, Gail really did _not_ care about the trivia score. Mostly she just wanted Dov and Chloe not to win.

"That was kinda mean, ya know," Holly poked Gail in the shoulder as the rest of the table carried on with the game.

"Dov can take it," Gail shrugged as she took a big bite from her half of the hamburger.

Holly raised her eyebrows and stared Gail down.

"_Ohhh,_" Gail feigned innocence, "you mean with Hamilton? Whatever. I was nice."

"He probably didn't even know we're together," Holly sounded sorry for him, "he's just a kid," she made a pouty face.

"And now he does," Gail shrugged as she popped another fry into her mouth.

Holly squeezed some ketchup onto the plate, "I was gonna let the poor kid down easy," she nudged Gail lightly with her elbow.

"Holly," Gail nodded her head down a bit, acting serious, "there can't be anything 'easy' about getting let down by _you._"

Holly's eyes widened as a half smiled played across her face. She returned her half of the burger to the plate, "smooth moves there, Peck. If I didn't know better I'd say you were tryin' to get lucky."

All the sudden Chloe jumped up out of her seat and pointed at Steve, "pay up, Peck! Hand it over," she motioned with her hand for the money.

Steve, Traci, Dov, and Chris's eyes shot over to the back door just in time to catch Jackson following Hamilton outside.

"No way!" Traci sounded simultaneously impressed and shocked. Steve slapped the money onto the table in front of Chloe.

"_What_ is going _on_?" Gail searched around the table for answer.

"I _knew_ she was into him!" Chloe sang as she counted her money.

"Wait," Gail put a hand up and closed her eyes, "did Hamilton just leave with Jackson?"

"Damn _straight,_" Chloe said victoriously as she slid the money into her back pocket.

"_Damnit,_" Gail cursed as she slumped back into her seat, face to the ceiling.

"What do you care?" Steve gave Gail's foot a kick under the table as he took another drink.

Gail made no effort to move but groaned, "that means I owe Oliver twenty bucks."

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><p>Holly fumbled with her keys as they walked out of the Penny into the crisp autumn air. "Hey, question for you," she said nervously, opening the driver's door.<p>

Gail placed her left foot on the floor of the car but paused to look across the roof at Holly. "I can't really help you there, I spent all my answers at trivia night," Gail shrugged as her elbows rested on the roof and the top of the open door.

Holly nodded and smiled, conceding to the joke while admitting her own nervousness. She slid into her seat and started the car as a means of distraction.

Gail looked over at Holly while slowly buckling her seatbelt. If she was being honest, it was kind of nice not being the one was who unhinged.

"It's just that, for Thanksgiving my family usually makes a big to do," Holly backed out of the parking space and used the task of driving as reason not to look at Gail, "everyone watches the doubleheader, my mom makes way too much food, Summer get's drunker than my mom approves of, my dad and Evan light stuff on fire, my aunt gets completely scandalized, sometimes my mom's sister's family comes. Anyways, my grandparents have always come out since we moved here, and it's going to be the first thanksgiving since Gram died, and I guess-"

"Say no more," Gail placed her hand on Holly's knee as they came to a stop for a red light, "Holly, of _course_ I'll arrest them all for you." Gail gazed into Holly's eyes sincerely, "why did you even think you had to _ask_?"

Holly cracked a smile and Gail returned to her slumped position on her side of the car, "that's not _exactly_ how I'm hoping things will pan out. I was kinda wondering if you wanted to come _not _in uniform." She looked back to the road and pressed down on the accelerator as the light turned green.

"Sure, why not?" Gail shrugged, "I could come over after shift."

"You're _working_?" Holly sounded surprised and took her eyes off the road for a brief moment to look across the car at Gail.

"_Duh_," Gail whipped her head to the left as she played with her right earlobe, "your's truly is still pretty low on the divisional pecking order, no pun intended, and someone's gotta babysit the rookies. Plus, my mom _always_ gets me Saturday and Sunday off for the 'Peck Family Thanksgiving at the cabin' so I'll probably be working Monday until the day she dies." Gail rolled her eyes; _Elaine Peck_.

"'Peck Family Thanksgiving at the cabin,' huh?" Holly raised her eyebrows as she turned left onto her street.

"_Yup_," Gail groaned, "wanna come? And by come I mean; wanna hide from my mother, apply Cortizone to my rashed out skin, throw darts at Steve's butt, and babysit me while I get stupid drunk."

Holly chuckled a deep laugh, "well how could I turn down _that_ invitation?" She turned off the car and realized Gail was already out of her seat.

"Oh," Gail ducked her head back into the car, "and by 'wanna come' I mean my mother expects you to be there and she'll put an all points bulletin out on you if you aren't so..." Gail made an 'o' with her lips and raised her eyebrows innocently before quickly shutting the door.

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><p><em>"Here not gone"<br>"Forever holding on"  
>- James Morrison "I Won't Let You Go"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Shout out to everyone who read and reviewed my first story! Seriously, you guys rock! I've actually started writing the next chapter first so it should be up sometime tomorrow. As always, I love to hear what you're thinking and I welcome comments and suggestions. Love to you!**


	2. Chapter 2: No Time to Be Alone

_"This is no time to be alone, alone"_

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><p>Oliver was standing in the hallway when Holly finally pushed the door to the courtroom open. It was a heavy door, solid wood, and it reached from the floor to the ceiling. She knew right away he was waiting for her. Her testimony had lasted over two hours. She wasn't sure exactly <em>how<em> she knew; but she _knew_. She knew it wasn't good. Maybe it was the look on his face when he saw her; he wasn't surprised at all to see her. He was there _for_ her. Maybe it was the way his hands were resting properly on the front of his duty belt. Maybe it was the smile he gave her; big but dim. Maybe it was the way he said, "hey doc," his chipper voice falling flat. Maybe it was the way he crossed the width of the hallway so stiffly. Maybe it was the way he rested his hand on her elbow. Maybe it was the way he kept it there. But really, she knew even before he smiled, before he opened his mouth. She _knew. _Maybe that's why she didn't believe him when he quickly and calmly opened with "everyone's okay." Maybe that's why she only really heard the "but" that followed. Maybe that's why "hospital" was all she made out of his short speech. Maybe that's why he had to steer her around when she started walking towards the front door; his squad was parked in the back.

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><p><em>Seven and a half hours ago<em>

Gail awoke to the sounds of bustling and rummaging, hangars clanking together. She also awoke to the smell of coffee. She refused to open her eyes yet and groped across the bed for Holly, knowing her attempts were futile. She groaned and rolled over onto her back, opening her eyes. "It's not even light out," her voice was thick with sleepy gravel as she rubbed at her eyes.

"Good morning to you too," Holly called distractedly from her closet.

"Are you robbing yourself or something?" Gail questioned from the bed, "should I call the police?" She looked over at the bedside clock; her alarm would have gone off in a minute anyway. That's when she noticed the fresh cup of coffee on the nightstand.

"I wish," Holly whipped a hanger across the closet rod. "I've got court today and I have to go into the lab first." She yanked a hanger off the rod and fumbled with its catches, trying to free the suit skirt as quickly as possible.

"Is this for me?" Gail asked hopefully with a hint of mischief, not waiting to take a sip from the steaming cup.

"But of course," Holly emerged from the depths of the closet fully dressed and smiling. "Okay," she crossed the room and dropped a kiss to the top of Gail's head, "gotta go. Be safe." And with that Gail could hear Holly's heels clop along the hardwood.

"Holly!" Gail called out urgently.

"Yeah?" She could hear Holly gathering her bag and keys.

"Holly!" Gail called again but made no movements to leave the bed.

Holly popped her head back into her bedroom. "What?" She sounded perplexed, curious, and annoyed.

"Come here," Gail commanded over the mug of coffee.

"_Gail,_" Holly whined and sped over to the bed and gave Gail a kiss on the lips.

"Well, thanks," Gail smiled a big grin, "but, turn around."

As she did as she was told Holly raised her hands up from her sides in question, "_Gail, _I need to _go._"

Gail quickly placed the mug back on the nightstand and moved her hands to the zipper on the back of Holly's skirt. "You also need to _not_ flash the entire courtroom," she gave Holly's bum an affectionate tap after pulling the zipper all the way up, "your mom might be there." Holly buried her face in her hands. "You may be on your way now," Gail reached over to her coffee, "go be smart."

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><p>Oliver looked over at her every block or so but nothing changed. Head against the headrest. Right hand tapping on her right knee. Left arm clutched across her stomach. Gaze straight ahead.<p>

"She's gonna be okay. Really. She's okay," he looked over again. He knew she probably wasn't hearing him but he kept talking, "Doc said she's got a couple bruised ribs, needed some stitches, but she's okay. I know it's scary. It's awful. But she's gonna be good as new." He knew she wasn't really listening. He knew she couldn't really _hear _him, and he knew why, so he gave his siren a couple bursts at the intersection and went through the red.

The ride was short. Even with the afternoon traffic it was less than ten minutes in Oliver's squad car. But to Holly it felt like an eternity. And then it was over. And she was out of the car again, and Oliver's hand was on her back again. The glass doors parted, ushering them in. He steered her towards the bank of elevators. He kept his right hand on her back as he reached with his left and tapped the 'up' button twice. He reached into his pocket and sifted out his phone. "Diaz says she's in room five twenty nine," he reported with a lift of his eyebrows as the elevator dinged, announcing it's arrival.

Oliver craned his neck and looked left and right as they stepped off onto the fifth floor. 'Right, definitely right,' he thought as he spotted the swarm of officers down the hall. They walked in silence and he glanced at the room numbers as they passed. Five fifteen, and they were going up. He was right. Oliver stopped outside of the door and nodded at the gathering of police where the Pecks were holding council a couple yards down the hall.

"Holly, hey," Steve's voice was soft and calm. His closed lip smile spoke more than his words. He quickly removed his feet from the guardrail of the hospital bed and rose from his chair. He crossed the room quickly and Holly felt the blazer that had been resting in his lap fall against her back as he pulled her into a brief hug. He pulled back but brought his hands to rest on her upper arms. "She's just sleeping. It's not really that bad. She saved that kid." Holly nodded and he smiled again before giving her arms a squeeze and quietly walking out into the hall.

"Thanks, Oliver," Steve gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Don't mention it," Oliver closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head from side to side.

"Hey, you're here," Chris approached the pair from behind Oliver, carrying a tray of coffees.

Oliver turned, "how's the rookie doing?"

"Oh, he's fine," Chris nodded, "Traci's taking his statement now. Nurse said he should be able to leave in an hour or so." Chris peeked into Gail's room for a second and then looked back to Oliver, "when'd you guys get here?"

"Just now," Oliver nodded, "got to the courthouse and the bailiff said she was already testifying. Waited for at least an hour and a half."

"How's she doing?" Chris looked at Steve seriously.

"Sleeping now, but same as when you left," Steve shrugged. "They charging that driver?"

"Don't know," Chris shook his head regretfully, "Swarek's looking into it."

Holly looked around the room at the various machines and screens. She saw the waves of Gail's heartbeat splayed across one monitor. She watched the flash of Gail's pulse on another. The windowsill was already full of flowers and balloons. Gail would say the only ones not from someone sucking up to her mother were the ones _from_ her mother. Holly didn't buy it though; although she would admit there _were_ probably a few brown nosing bouquets amongst the bunch. Holly stepped forward towards the foot of the bed until they were toe to toe. Except Gail's toes were resting in a hospital bed while Holly's were planted on the floor. She watched the rise and fall of Gail's chest for a moment before snatching the chart clipped onto the white plastic foot of the bed. She started at the beginning and read through every entry, every note, every prescription, every suture. She read through it twice.

Gail had arrived via ambulance at 12:39 P.M.. She had been involved in a MVA, a multiple vehicle accident. She had been given a full trauma workup and was diagnosed with four bruised ribs, very minor internal bleeding, whiplash, a dislocated shoulder, and a broken nose. She had been given a cocktail of painkillers. She had needed twenty seven stitches. Holly took out her phone and Googled the various doctors who made inputs to the chart. She nodded when she read that the head of plastic surgery had done Gail's sutures. Elaine Peck doesn't mess around. They wanted to make sure she didn't have a concussion. She had gotten an MRI and a CT scan. They had taken x-rays of her chest to make sure her ribs weren't broken.

Holly's eyes snapped up from the chart as Gail croaked out a "hey you." She let out a deep breath because the doctor said it would help with her chest pain. She was sure that he was a liar. "You didn't have to come down here, I could have just met you at The Penny later." This brought on a genuine coughing fit that Gail tried to mask with a few long and deep expulsions of air.

Holly stayed by the foot of the bed and shook her head, "don't talk if it hurts."

"Nothing hurts," Gail began, but they both looked to the open door when they heard a nock.

"Good afternoon," the nurse crossed the room and started taking inventory of, and notes on, the various machines and drips Gail was hooked up to.

Gail looked up at the nurse seriously, "I'm on a _lot_ of drugs aren't I?"

"You're on a couple, yes," the nurse answered with a laugh.

"I like it," Gail concluded. "Can you get me that drink now?"

"Uh," the nurse started before Holly cut in.

"Gail," she scolded, "this is _serious. _You're in the _hospital."_

"Way to be a buzzkill," Gail mumbled before she started coughing again.

Holly put up her hand, "I'm going to find your doctor," and turned on her heel. Holly stalked past Oliver, Chris, and Steve on her way to the nurses' station. Luckily for the nurse behind the desk Dr. Williamson was just walking by when Holly sternly demanded to see him.

"I'm Dr. Williamson," he said with a smile as he offered his hand. Holly had been gearing up for a fight in order to track down an absentee flakey doctor and the fact that he was not only right behind her, but also eager to chat, completely threw her off. After he finished running through Gail's injures he excused himself and Holly whipped out her phone to call her dad. Honestly, reading Gail's chart had given her a more complete picture of what was going on but it was good to know he wasn't a complete twat.

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><p><em>Six hours ago<em>

Gail stood tall and still. Her left arm was crossed in front of her chest; her right elbow propped on her left hand which was clenched in a fist. Her right palm was facing up and the keys to the squad car were dangling from her index finger. She stood still while she waited. Gail Peck did not like to be kept waiting. She kept her eyes trained on the doors into the station, waiting for her rookie to walk out. Oliver sauntered out of the doors carrying his duffel in his left hand and taking a bite from an apple he held in his right.

Gail didn't move a muscle except those in her neck when she cocked it to the side and smiled at Oliver, "an apple? Really?"

Oliver mocked a laugh as he approached the cruiser to the right of Gail, "a little birdie told me a certain Peck owes me twenty bucks." Oliver smiled at her as he fiddled with the keys to unlock his cruiser.

"Oh yeah?" Gail was practicing her best deadpan for when her rookie finally showed up. It's not like he was actually late, but Gail was the first one outside, and she doesn't like to be kept waiting.

"First name rhymes with kale?" Oliver squinted into the morning sun and rested his arms on the roof of his cruiser as he looked over it at her.

"_Gross,_" she scoffed, "stop with all this healthy shit." Gail flicked her finger up and down causing the keys to bounce and jingle. "I concede," she closed her eyes and nodded her head, "that I did not read that particular situation as accurately as you."

"Ha ha!" Oliver smiled and pointed his index finger at her.

"_But_," she narrowed her eyes at him, "you owe me a doughnut for saying the 'K' word."

"The 'K' word?" Oliver furrowed his brow as he questioned her.

"The 'K' word," Gail nodded. "Oh, would you look at that," Gail raised her voice so that most of the parking lot could hear her, "it's my _rookie_. Better late than never."

"Hu ho," Oliver laughed a deep bellied laugh at Gail's stronger than necessary snark. He had his gossipy, pot stirring look on his face.

Hamilton speed walked towards Gail while zipping up his duffle. He kept his head down as he rounded the car to store his bag in the trunk. "Morning, Officer Peck."

"Officer Hamilton," Gail kept her gaze on Oliver who was still hanging onto the roof of his squad even though his rookie was ready to go and waiting in the passenger seat. He was grinning like an idiot; he wanted to watch the show, obviously.

Hamilton automatically walked over to the passenger door but looked up to see that Gail hadn't moved. "Are you? Um, am I? Uh, driving?" Gail was definitely one of the more intimidating training officers and he wasn't exactly eager to ride with her after his humiliation at The Penny last night. In his almost three months as a rookie he could count on one hand the number of times Gail had let him drive.

She quickly turned on her heels to face him, "you're driving, Hamilton, or I would have already left without you."

He couldn't help but grin as he bounded over to take the keys.

* * *

><p>"Thank you, doctor," Elaine's speech was as proud and polished as ever.<p>

"I'll see you in a few hours," he bowed his head and retreated through the door.

"Where'd Holly go?" Gail asked in a curious and confused voice.

"I'm not sure dear," Elaine looked around the room mostly for show; Holly clearly wasn't in here. "Your father and I have to get back to Headquarters and wrap this whole thing up. Have the nurse call us if you need anything. We'll be back tonight," when she dropped a kiss to her daughter's head Gail scrunched up her face. Elaine made her way to the door and starting talking with Steve in hushed tones.

"You did good today, kid," her dad's eyes twinkled a bit and he gave her left shoulder a squeeze.

"Dad," Gail groaned, "let's not make a big deal?"

He smiled knowingly, "it's best to just ride the waves with this." Gail rolled her eyes and he made his way over to the door just as Holly gingerly crossed the threshold. "Found her," Bill called, warmly victorious.

Holly chuckled nervously, smiled, and nodded, "Staff Inspector, Superintendent."

"We have to go back for a few hours," Elaine reported with a show of sadness. "Don't let her get any _higher_," she instructed with a raise of her eyebrow.

"I'll try my best," Holly offered cautiously.

Steve followed his parents out saying that he wanted to talk with Traci before she went back to the station. "Hey," he popped his head back in quickly, "if someone comes to get her statement just have them wait until I get back, okay?"

"Uh, sure," Holly nodded, not really sure why she needed to agree to this, "of course."

"Back in fifteen or less," Steve rapped quietly on the door jam before scooting down the hall.

Holly nodded at him even though he had already gone and turned slowly back towards Gail.

"Where'd you go?" Gail asked, sounding a little distressed.

Holly took a deep breath but didn't let it out, "oh, ya know," she walked briskly towards Gail's bedside, "twist a couple of arms." Holly sighed and let her head drop to one side, "my dad says your doctor's really good, but that he sucks at golf."

"Well, fire him _already_," Gail quipped.

"Ah, I don't think your mom would like that," Holly mused as she quickly lowered the guardrail on Gail's left side. "Plus, we like him because he's your _doctor,"_ Holly gingerly took a seat at Gail's side.

"How'd you do _that_?" Gail was scandalized at how quickly her main blockade to freedom had been removed.

"I'll never tell," Holly looked up and down for some part of Gail to grab onto. Her left hand was stuck with the I.V. and clipped with the pulse monitor. Her right arm was burrowed in a sling, her right hand bruised and cut. Holly hadn't seen the news yet. She hadn't seen the pictures. If she had, she'd have seen the wrecked squad car. The Jaguar had hit it square on the passenger side; right where Gail was seated. Gail's hands were out of the question, so Holly reached back and rested her left hand on Gail's left knee. The blanket was thin and not very soft at all.

"Did you get me that drink?" Gail asked hopefully.

Holly waited for Gail's coughs to subside before answering. "No, Gail," Holly shook her head, her voice was slightly pained, scolding, and sorrowful, "stop asking. You can't have any."

"Fine," Gail huffed dramatically, "I guess I'll settle for three kisses then," she smiled slyly.

Holly exhaled deeply before leaning down and dropping a lingering kiss to Gail's temple. It wasn't completely unscathed; a few light scratches burned red. Holly moved up a little bit and kissed the left side of Gail's forehead, well clear of the bandage covering up the stitches. Finally she kissed Gail's waiting lips.

The quickening of Gail's heartbeat sounded through the monitor and Holly smiled into her lips, "relax."

"Nooo," Gail whined as Holly pulled back.

She ignored Gail's protests, asking "how are you feeling?" while sucking in a breath.

"Well, frankly, right now I feel a little teased," Gail brought her left arm up to try and cross it with her sling.

Holly closed her eyes and dropped her head, "_Gail_," she warned.

"Hol, I'm _fine_," Gail rested her hand on Holly's knee, "seriously, I feel _great_."

"Yeah, well, that's gonna change when they start to ween you off these pain killers."

"What are those?" Gail was already distracted and was pointing at the collection of flowers and balloons decorating her windowsill. "When did _they_ get _here?"_

"They were here when I got here," Holly started absentmindedly stroking Gail's knee again.

"Probably just a bunch of people sticking their faces up my mom's butt," Gail huffed, bringing on another cough.

"There are probably fewer of those than you think," Holly smiled weakly.

"Whatever," Gail rolled her eyes, "do you have any food? I never got lunch," she pouted.

"Well," Holly thought for a moment, "I have a pack of gum in my bag."

"I want dumplings, do you have any of those in your bag?"

"Pretty sure I don't, sorry. I'm sure I can find you something though."

They were interrupted by a knuckle rapping against the door jam. "Knock knock," Sam offered a closed lip smile and waited in the doorway while Steve breezed past him and took a seat in one of chairs against the wall, facing Gail's feet. "Having fun, Peck?"

"No flowers? A balloon? Candy?" Gail tried to raise an eyebrow at him but retreated when it caused pain to shoot across her forehead. "Not even a card?"

Sam chuckled, glad to see Gail was still being Gail, even though he had known for a while that she was going to be okay. "Sorry, Peck. Unlike you, I've actually been working for the past couple hours."

"So dedicated this man is," Gail motioned weakly with her left hand towards Sam who had taken a couple steps into the room.

Sam cracked a smile while running his tongue around the inside of his mouth. He tapped a finger on his notepad, "look, if you're up to it, I'd like to get your statement. Get it over with while it's fresh in your mind." He glanced over at Steve who approved silently.

"Sure," Gail shrugged. It had been pretty straight forward.

* * *

><p><em>Three hours ago<em>

"Where to for lunch?" Hamilton looked over at Gail as he stopped at the red light.

"Noodles," Gail cocked her head to the side, thinking deeply. "Dumplings? Dumplings. That place on King always gives me free stuff."

He nodded along, "sounds good."

"Follow that car right," Gail pointed at the blue SUV in front of them as the light turned green. She pivoted the computer screen in her direction and started tapping away at the keyboard.

Hamilton did as he was told, "did they, uh, do something wrong?" He hoped he hadn't missed anything.

"Yessss," Gail answered as she concentrated on the screen.

"Uh, I didn't notice-" he fumbled trying to think of which traffic law they had broken.

"Sush, just keep following," she quickly reached for the radio, "dispatch this is 15-19. We're following a blue Explorer license plate 'D-K-9-F-6-7', matches the make, model, and plate for the Amber Alert issued last night in Montreal. Headed north on Church, just past Richmond. Requesting backup."

_"Copy 15-19. Be advised subject should be considered dangerous, possibly armed."_

'Yeah, I can _read_ the amber alert' Gail thought to herself. "Copy dispatch," she put down the radio and turned to Hamilton, "whatever you do, don't lose that car," as she flipped the lights and sirens the SUV took off.

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><p><em>"This is no time to be alone, alone"<em>  
>- <em>James Morrison "I Won't Let You Go"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: In my defense all my medical knowledge is gleaned from Grey's Anatomy. Also, everything I know about Canadian Thanksgiving is derived from Wikipedia. Feel free to enlighten me on either of these subjects.**

**Thanks to everyone who's viewed/reviewed/followed/favorited this story so far! I'm so glad you're excited for it to start/keep going!  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Make it to Me

**A/N: It's a shortie but you'll get another tomorrow :)**

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><p><em>"We're meant to be so keep your head down and make it to me"<em>

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><p>Holly quickly rose to her feet, brushing down the front of her skirt, "I can go," she pointed over her shoulder at the door. Steve was here; he'd told her to wait for him to come back and he was back. Was she even <em>allowed <em>to be here?

"It's fine," Sam's voice was soft and honest. He raised his forearms to be perpendicular to his body, facing his palms up, "you can stay," he nodded the tiniest nod.

"I want you to stay," Gail said simply as she reached for the cup of water and brought the straw to her lips.

"Put her here, pal," Steve patted the pale pleather of the hospital chair next to his.

Holly did as she was told and crossed the room to take her place next to Steve. She took out her phone while Sam scooted into the chair by the head of Gail's bed. Her sister Summer had called her once. Holly would call her back later.

"So," Sam rested his elbows on his knees, pad and pen at the ready, "let's start from when you noticed the SUV."

Gail nodded with her eyelids, her neck constricted by the brace they had put on. "We were on patrol," she recalled, "we were going to break for lunch, it was just after noon. Hamilton was driving."

Sam nodded as he took his notes.

"We were headed west on King. We stopped at the light at King and Church. We were three cars back, maybe four, from the intersection. I don't know I just saw the the car and had a feeling. I remembered there was an amber alert out in Montreal." Gail paused to clear her throat and Sam offered her the cup of water. She took it from him and took a sip. "I remembered it was for a blue Explorer. It had gone out last night and there were literally seven notifications for it on my phone when I checked it this morning. They sent it out like a ton of times. They were turning right so I told Hamilton to follow them instead of going straight." Gail swallowed, "I ran the plate in the computer. It was the same car, same plate. So I called it in and requested back up before we tried to pull them over." She stopped to take another sip of her water and Sam took the opportunity to run through the notes he had taken.

"Okay, so you called it in," he prompted patiently.

"Called it in, flipped the lights and sirens, they took off. Rookie did a pretty good job too. We went probably six blocks? Through the Ryerson campus. I told Hamilton not to be too aggressive since we were assuming the kid was in the car."

Sam nodded, continuing with his notes.

"The Explorer had blown through the intersection with Carlton but two other squads had blocked off the street so we stopped in case he tried to back track. Price and Collins were already out of their cars with their guns drawn. Our lights and sirens were still on, we were about to exit the squad and we just got slammed. Nailed my door. The glass shattered. The airbag blew out into my face. Pretty sure we spun around a little. It was really loud. Hamilton was checking my pulse so I slapped him away. Diaz was at the window but he couldn't open the door. Hamilton cut my seatbelt. Chris was yakking a lot, and then the fire monkeys came."

Sam flipped his notebook closed with a closed lip smile, "that should be good," he hit his pen on his thigh and it clicked, the ballpoint retreated up inside. "We got everyone else's statement so you don't need to be sequestered anymore. You did good Peck," he tapped her good shoulder lightly. "I gotta get this report going," he crossed towards the door.

"Sam," Gail called out, weak in conviction.

"Yeah," he spun around on his heels and popped his eyes wide when he looked at her.

"Are they gonna charge the driver? Of the Jag?" Gail was pretty sure he wasn't going to tell her but she still wanted to know.

Sam shrugged, "don't know," he zipped up his leather jacket, "not really up to me anyways."

"I figured," Gail leaned her head back farther into the pillow.

"Lemme know if you need anything," Sam smiled and stuck his hand out in goodbye.

"Yeah, I could really use a drink," Gail shot back.

Sam laughed and winked as he passed through the door.

Just as soon as Sam had gone Chris, Oliver, and Hamilton appeared in the doorway.

"Hey," Chris's smile was full of relief, "how's it goin'?"

"Apparently I can't even get a drink or a bite to eat in this goddamn place, _and_ they won't let me leave," Gail groaned.

Chris let out a soft laugh, happy that Gail was being Gail.

Holly quickly rose to her feet, "I'll go find you something to eat," she forced a smile as she gave Gail's left foot a squeeze and made her way out of the room.

As soon as she was past the windows into Gail's room Holly leaned hard against the wall. She dropped her hands to her waist and leaned her head back, face to the ceiling. She was trying to take deep breaths but this skirt wasn't helping any. Gail wasn't the only one who could use a drink.

"Just thought we'd swing by before we have to get back to the station," Chris smiled nervously, awkwardly touching his duty belt.

"Ya know what they say," Oliver pointed a finger at her, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away."

"Oh shut it, old man," Gail rolled her eyes.

Hamilton had been standing there silently the whole time and apparently he couldn't keep it in any longer, "I am _so _sorry," he blurted out.

Gail raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised by the direction this conversation had taken.

"This is all my fault, if I had just stopped a few-"

Gail raised her left hand for him to stop. "Seriously, not a good outlet for your guilt." She pointed to the pile of flowers and balloons, "_that_ is the outlet for your guilt. But I prefer things that are eatable."

He nodded quietly, mouth slightly agape.

"But this isn't your fault," she continued on after swallowing, "you did everything right, and it's not your fault that some geriatric mixed up the gas and the brake. Plus, I get a whole paid week off. I'm fine," she nonchalantly shrugged motioning to her current state.

"You're not _fine_," he rolled his eyes, still feeling guilty that his partner was going to end up in the hospital for at least a night while he only really needed some stitches and a lot of ibuprofen.

"Fine enough to kick _your_ ass," she cut in, challenging him with a wink, "isn't that right, Officer Shaw?"

"Oh," Oliver bounced on the balls of his feet a touch, "you betcha."

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><p><em>"We're meant to be so keep your head down and make it to me"<em>  
>- <em>Sam Smith "Make it to Me"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks so much for all of the reviews/follows/favs guys! I adore each and every one of you! Keep 'em com in' :)**


	4. Chapter 4: When It's Black

**A/N: Jen82LH, did someone say Summer Stewart?**

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><p><em>"When it's black take a little time to hold yourself"<em>

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><p>Holly tightened her grip on her waist and tried to sink back further into the wall. She wasn't really doing well with this and she needed to get it together. Cool, calm, collected Holly needed to get it together.<p>

"Gosh, no running in the halls, Hol."

Holly's eyes flashed open; she was staring at the tiled ceiling. She lowered her chin and was suddenly meeting her sister's gaze. "What are you doing here?"

"Good to see you too," Summer chastised her sister's manners. She was laden down by a big fruit basket encased in cellophane tied off with a big purple bow. "Mom called, said Gail got a couple boo boos and you were at the hospital flipping out."

Holly ran her hand through her hair, "mom called you? I only talked to dad," Holly's words trailed off at the end of her sentence.

"Yeah, well apparently he was in surgery when you called and mom had a trial so she ordered these for me to pick up. _And_ deliver," Summer tapped the plastic wrapping, causing it to crinkle loudly.

"Dad was in _surgery_?!" Holly's voice was full of embarrassment.

"Guess so," Summer's eyes darted around the hallway.

"I _hate _when he does that. I was on speaker and had _no_ idea," Holly rubbed under her glasses at the bridge of her nose.

Summer snorted, "that sucks."

Holly peered into the plastic wrap, "so what'dya got there?"

"How should I know?" Summer rolled her eyes, "I'm just mom's delivery boy."

Holly chuckled, "well, you have perfect timing, seeing as I'm supposed to be hunting for food." Holly grabbed Summer's wrist, "c'mon." They walked back down the hall towards Gail's room.

"Look who I found," Holly announced as she walked into the room.

Gail indignantly motioned towards Summer, "I'm not a cannibal, Holly. Even if I was, she wouldn't be my first pick."

"Har Har," Summer plopped the fruit basket onto the table hovering over Gail's bed, "special delivery from Anne Stewart."

Gail looked over at Holly, "what? Currier sick again?"

Oliver snorted while Chris, Hamilton, and Summer looked downright confused.

Holly gave Gail a side eye as she untied the bow and brought the plastic down from around the basket. "Oh! A Fugi apple. You like these," Holly removed the apple from the basket, placing it on the table, and went about searching around the room for a knife.

"_Oh_, will you look at _that_," Oliver's smile was uncontainable, "an _apple_," he was rocking forward, bouncing on his toes, "that you _like, _Peck." Gail remained silent and shot Oliver the best death glare she could muster given the situation and amount of drugs she was on. "Here, allow me," Oliver graciously whipped the utility knife out of his pocket and gave the blade a wipe down with one of the hospital's disinfecting wipes. He grabbed a couple of paper towels from the dispenser and went about cutting the apple up.

"I can bite into the stupid apple, for christ sakes," Gail tapped on the guardrail, "I'm not an invalid."

"Tell me Peck, is your _favorite_ part of eating _apples_ holding it in your hand and giving it a good chomp?" Gail gave him the stink eye as he placed the apple pieces on the table in front of her.

'Well," Chris sounded regretful, "we should really be getting back. Gonna have a _lot_ of paperwork for today's shift."

"Duty calls," Oliver gave Gail a big smile and a salute as he sidestepped out the door.

"See ya soon, Peck," Hamilton smiled and waved awkwardly as he followed Oliver out.

"I'll come round after shift, bring you some decent food," Chris tapped the end of Gail's bed.

"Hey Diaz," Gail called out to him.

"Yeah," he spun around quickly to look back at her.

"Take Holly's keys and run over to her place to grab her some clothes, will you?"

"Chris," Holly cut in, "you don't have to do that. I'm fine, really," she smiled at him, not wanting to abuse his good nature and loyalty.

"It's no problem," he smiled reassuringly.

"Really, Chris," Holly turned to glare at Gail, "forget she even _mentioned_ it."

"Well, Holly, if you don't give him your keys, and Chris, if you don't use them, I'll make both of your lives a living hell for the foreseeable future," Gail closed with a sweet smile.

Summer chuckled and grabbed the keys out of Holly's bag and dropped them into Chris's hand. He waved and the keys jingled, "see you guys later," he smiled and ran to catch up with Oliver and the rookie.

Summer grabbed a banana from the basket and plopped herself in the chair Steve had vacated.

"You didn't have to make him do that," Holly drummed her hands on the rolling table in front of Gail.

Gail finished chewing and swallowed, "sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you over the crunch of this delectable dumpling-I mean _apple_."

Holly rolled her eyes, "touché. Where'd Steve go?" Her gaze shifted to the hallway, wondering if she had missed him out there.

"Don't know," Gail mumbled through a full mouth. "Probably dropping a deuce," Gail shoved another whole apple slice in her mouth.

With that Summer jumped out of her seat, "well that's my cue, " she smiled cheekily. "I've got practice in, well, soon."

Gail waved and smiled, but in place of her teeth was the apple slice, skin face out.

"Very good," Summer chuckled and gave Gail a weak high five. She placed her left hand lightly on Holly's arm, "let me know if you need anything." Summer made her way to the door and called out, "enjoy the drugs, Gail," before she turned the corner.

Just as Summer disappeared down the hall a woman in a white lab coat wheeled in a cart with a monitor sitting on top, "hello hello," she called out.

Gail's eyes widened to a size larger than Holly had ever seen before. Gail's hand quickly grabbed the one Holly had resting on the guardrail. Holly's face quickly shifted to one of confusion. "_Help me_," Gail hissed.

Holly looked quickly to the woman and back to Gail, "huh?" Holly leaned in closer.

Gail mouthed dramatically, '_I hate her_.' The look on Gail's face was one she reserved for a select few. Gail never dared look at her mother like that. She had never really even looked at Dov or Chris that way. This was the look she gave to Chloe when they first met. She didn't waste this look on just anyone. Your common criminal was too petty to waste this look on.

Holly patted Gail's hand and turned to face the newcomer, "hi," she gave one of her biggest smiles.

"Good afternoon," the woman looked up from her cart and gave what Holly interpreted as a genuine smile, "you must be the doctor girlfriend." She pulled the cart over to the other side of Gail's head and started powering up the machine.

"That depends on what she's been saying," Holly side eyed Gail who batted her eyelashes a couple times.

The doctor laughed but quickly said, "only good things, of course." She stuck her hand out for Holly to shake, "I'm Doctor Adlard. I'm Doctor Williamson's resident assigned to Gail here."

Holly thought she was nice. At least her bedside manner didn't suck. She remembered Gail's first name and took the time to properly introduce herself even though Gail was doing relatively well and Holly wasn't technically family. Holly could see why Gail hadn't taken a shining to her.

"Ready, Officer Peck?" The doctor opened one of the drawers and put a bottle on the cart while reaching for a fresh set of rubber gloves.

"To get out of here? You bet," two could play at this game. Gail threw off the blankets on her left side and made like she was going to get out of bed.

"Uh but but," the doctor placed a hand on Gail's shoulder, "nice try Officer, but I've got to give you another ultrasound, check your bleeds."

Gail's eyes went rock hard as she threw the blankets back over in defeat.

"This should only take a couple minutes if you want to grab a coffee or something," the doctor smiled at Holly, seemingly immune to Gail's antics. The grip Gail had on Holly's hand immediately tightened.

Holly smiled through what was now bordering pain, and simply said, "I'll stay, I don't mind."

"Okie doke," the doctor flashed a smile, "the more the merrier."

Holly read the look Gail was giving her loud and clear, it said, 'if I kill her will you hide the body and destroy the evidence? Please?'

"Just gotta get at your tummy here," the doctor began adjusting Gail's hospital gown.

Gail mouthed, 'tummy?!' and Holly had to force herself not to laugh.

"This might be a little cold," the doctor warned as she squirted a glob of light blue gel onto Gail's abdomen.

Gail winced, "Jesus Christ. Do you keep that stuff on ice?"

"Sorry," the doctor apologized as she moved the gel around with the wand. Her attention shifted to the monitor and Holly tried peer over the doctor's shoulder to get a look at the screen.

"You know girls can't get girls pregnant _right?_" Gail's sarcasm was in full swing.

Holly cringed and the doctor chuckled but kept her eyes on the screen. "Well, in _your_ case that's not what we're looking for. As we said before, you have some minor internal bleeding in your abdomen. It didn't require surgery when you came in but we want to make sure it's resolving itself."

"When do you decide if you need to operate?" Holly cut in confidently, urgently.

"Depends," the doctor kept her eyes on the screen while moving the wand centimeters at a time. She answered calmly, "if it's getting much worse we'll decide sooner, if it's tapering off we'll decide later."

"Well," Holly pushed, "what do you think the chances are you'll have to operate?" Holly began tapping the toe of her shoe on the linoleum floor.

"When she came in I'd say it was fifty/fifty," the doctor answered noncommittally, unaware of the death glare Gail was sending her way.

"What about now?" Holly looked at her watch, "that was three hours ago."

The doctor finally turned to face Holly, finished with her exam, "it doesn't look significantly worse to me, but I really have to defer to my attending. He'll look at the film and make that call." She sounded calm and confident, and while Gail definitely was not a fan of her demeanor she couldn't fault how she had done her job so far. Holly seemed to be less than impressed.

"Look, I know how it works," Holly raised a hand loosely, "you can read the ultrasound but you're not _allowed_ to say. You can only '_defer_' to your boss. So just tell me what _you _think."

Gail figured she should do something to diffused the situation but she wasn't thinking so quickly on all these drugs. Plus, this doctor was definitely _not_ Gail's favorite.

She looked regretful, "I'm really sorry, I know it's stressful but I really have to wait for my attending to make the call."

Lucky for the doctor Steve slid into the room before Holly could say anything, "hey, gang." The doctor took the opportunity to start packing up the ultrasound cart. "Hey doc," Steve tapped against the footboard, "figure out that attitude transplant yet?"

"Yeah, they're doing your's tomorrow," Gail shot back at him. "The monkey you're swapping with was just in here. He seems sharper than you. Cuter too."

"Touché," Steve conceded with a chuckle before turning his attention back to the doctor, "how's she lookin'? Notice any cheese puffs in there?"

She gave Steve a smile, "not that I noticed, but Dr. Williamson will be back in a bit to give you an update." The doctor made a quick escape while she could.

Steve opened his mouth like he was about to say something but paused when his phone started to ring. He looked at the screen and then brought it up to his ear with an exaggerated grin on face, "hi, mom," he said cheerily, shooting a wink Gail's way. She promptly closed her eyes and produced some loud snoring noises. Steve pivoted the bottom of the phone away from his mouth and whispered, "the nurses _hate_ me," and pointed towards the hallway as he walked out the door to take the call.

Gail looked up at Holly with her best puppy dog eyes, "I _really_ don't like her. She's _so _annoying."

"Yeah, I kinda noticed when you cut off the blood supply to my fingers," Holly couldn't help but smile.

"Don't think I didn't notice that little nerd-off you two had. Also, I'm pretty sure you lost that round," Gail poked Holly in the stomach.

"That was a losing battle," Holly conceded with a sigh.

"Can you just bust me out of here?" Gail looked to the doorway to make sure she wasn't overheard, "I'm sure Steve would help. This place sucks. The pillow is hard, these sheets itch, this lighting is awful, there are sick people everywhere," Gail looked up at Holly with a pleading look in her eyes, "can we leave? Please?"

Holly brushed a lock of hair behind Gail's ear, "I would _love _to take you home with me, but that is not going to happen today, or tomorrow probably."

Gail sighed and shifted her hips, "my nose itches."

"Don't touch it!" Holly grabbed Gail's sling-free hand, "they just set it."

Gail looked Holly in the eyes and defiantly wiggled her nose under the tape. She winced as pain shot through to her eyes, "ow!" she cried.

Holly flinched, "yeah, that's why."

Steve burst into the room with his hands high above his head, "Superintendent Mom lands in T minus fifty-two."

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><p><em>"When it's black take a little time to hold yourself"<br>- James Morrison "I Won't Let You Go"_

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><p><strong>AN: As always I'm super grateful for all of you who read and review the story! It means a ton, and I'm always open to hearing what you do and don't want to see in the future :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Say Those Words

_"Say those words like there's nothing else"_

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><p>Gail <em>was<em> actually asleep when her parents returned exactly fifty minutes after Steve started the clock. Dr. Williamson came in shortly after to discuss Gail's progress. He said that her internal bleeds did not appear to be getting worse and that at that point he didn't foresee them needing to operate. They would have to continue to monitor her progress for at least another couple of days. Traci had arrived a little while later on her way to pick up Leo. She couldn't stay for long but Gail was glad for the reprieve, however short, from her mother. Dov breezed in not long after Traci had to leave. He brought three big bags of takeout and tossed Holly her car keys, explaining that Chris had dropped him at the courthouse to pick up her car. Dov looked apologetic when he handed Holly the parking ticket that had been placed on the outside of her windshield. Holly was at a loss for words when the ticket was promptly snatched out of her hand. "I'll handle that," Elaine shot Holly a wink and stuffed the neon envelope deep in her bag. Holly could practically hear her sister in her head saying, 'marry _that_.' Summer was like a magnet for parking tickets.

Gail asked if Oliver had smelt the food "all the way from the station," when he and Celery announced their arrival a few minutes after Dov had made his delivery. Gail was over the moon when Oliver waved the container of dumplings in front of her nose. She had been craving those since before she woke up that morning.

Holly was unreasonably happy when Chris and Chloe bounded in carrying a bag of her clothes. Chloe had even thrown in a perfectly packed toiletry case complete with her glasses case. Chris shook his hands in front of his waist as he clarified, "I wasn't going to go in your, um, top drawer." He reached back and scratched his head, "that was Chloe." For someone hopped up on pain killers and with her dominant hand in a sling Gail had impeccable aim, and a wrapped fortune cookie landed squarely on Chris's temple. Holly offered her never ending thanks, insisting that they didn't have to do that as she skipped off to the bathroom to change. If she was being honest, Holly had been ready to change the second she got to the courthouse. Nick, Andy, Sam, and Frank showed up while Holly was in the bathroom. Chris couldn't help but chuckle at Nick, Andy, and Sam's timing. After the Ford case settled he had vowed to never get involved with someone from the division again; Andy was a walking case study in why. Dov availed himself of the opportunity to chat up Gail's mom while Chris fumbled around, doing his best to avoid her. Chris was pretty sure he had pissed every Peck off at least once in the past few years.

A nurse poked her head in a short while after Holly returned, refreshed in a pair of jeans and a sweater. The nurse said that they needed to keep the noise down; there _were_ people on the floor who were _actually_ trying to get well. She reminded them there _was_ supposed to be _only _two visitors in a patient's room at a time. Frank and the senior Pecks apologized for the group, assuring her that some of them were just leaving. Gail couldn't help but laugh when Oliver cattily mimed the nurse's scolding, opening and closing his mouth exaggeratedly fast with a mean look on his face. Oliver, however, was the picture of innocence when Elaine turned around to see what had her daughter cackling. Gail quickly regretted it as pain thundered through her ribcage.

Frank excused himself with well wishes; he really _did_ have to get home to Noelle and the babes. Nick left next, with Andy and Sam not far behind. Oliver and Celery said their goodbyes with promises of fresh doughnuts and herbal teas. Gail thought about promising Steve everything she owned right then and there when he quietly suggested to their father that it might be best for everyone involved if he and their mother called it a night and came back in the morning. Chris, Dov, and Chloe waived goodbye, promising to be back for a quick hello before their shift in the morning. Not wanting to be outdone, Elaine judged now an acceptable time to head home after one final discussion with Gail's doctor.

Steve looked at his watch; it was almost ten o'clock.

"I'm not even going to pretend you didn't just save the day there," Gail huffed at Steve.

He placed his hand over his chest looking around the room comically, "who me?"

"Nah," Gail scoffed, "I like my other brother best. You do come in a close second though."

Steve raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "other brother, eh?" Steve reached his hand into the inside pocket of his blazer and started to remove it slowly, "then I guess this 'other brother' can swap out the dead batteries in the remote." He twirled the double 'A' batteries in his fingers.

"Gimme gimme!" Gail reached out with her good hand, making pincer movements with her fingers.

Steve chuckled and tossed the batteries to Holly, "I'm gonna go have a little chat with the nurse, then I'll walk you out."

He was out the door before Holly could object.

"I told him to take you home before Dov brought your car," Gail explained before Holly could close her half opened mouth.

Holly threw her hand onto the remote and dragged it down the length of the table in front of Gail before picking it up and opening the backing. The whole while though, Holly didn't break eye contact with Gail. "I'm gonna stay here," she said while expelling a deep breath.

"No you're not," Gail said seriously. "You have that meeting thing tomorrow, you can't miss that. You should go sleep. Like in a bed."

"I can skip it," Holly contradicted Gail quickly.

She narrowed her eyes and stared back at Holly.

"Fine," Holly huffed, "I can't skip it but-"

"Holly," Gail cut in, "seriously, nothing's going to happen. I'll probably sleep for like fifteen hours straight. The only thing you're likely to miss is me saying something ridiculous and I'm sure Steve is bribing the nurse to video it anyways," Gail gave the hand Holly had placed atop the railing a reassuring squeeze.

Holly narrowed her eyes, weighing what Gail had said.

"Seriously, you don't want to mess with me. I may be bedridden right now, but I'll still get my way," Gail narrowed her eyes as a challenge. "Chris got my phone back for me, I can call you."

"_Fine_," Holly conceded reluctantly, "_but_, I have spies all over this place." Holly pointed her finger at Gail, "don't try anything funny."

Gail tried to look appalled, "who, me?"

Holly cocked her head to the side and sighed, "I love you, you know."

"I love you too, you know," Gail shot Holly an exaggerated wink so Holly quickly kissed her closed eye.

"Don't be fresh," she murmured as she moved down to kiss Gail's lips.

A minute later Steve returned to the room and grabbed Holly's bags, "ready to get out of here and finally go have some fun?" he joked.

"Don't really have much choice do I?" Holly quipped.

"Nope," both Pecks said in unison.

After a few minutes of goodbyes, and a couple halfhearted promises to be well behaved by Gail, Steve was finally able to usher Holly out the door and down the hall to the elevator.

"I gave the night nurse our numbers," Steve explained as he tapped the 'down' button, "told her to call if blondie's being too much trouble."

"Thanks," Holly offered Steve a grateful smile.

"Ya know," he mused as they stepped into the elevator, "I wonder if this was what it was like for my parents to drop us off at daycare. Well, _Gail_ off at daycare."

Holly couldn't help but laugh at that one.

"It's kinda like 'look I know my kid can be a _huge_ trouble maker, and she'll probably throw her lunch in your face, but let me remind you that your job is to keep her alive, not kill her. _Please_ be sure to call me before you expel her'," Steve cocked his head to the side at his own joke.

After such a long and unexpected day Holly couldn't help but laugh along. She imagined that his analogy was probably not far from the truth at all.

When Holly finally threw her bags onto the floor and her keys onto the counter she checked her phone. She scrolled past the missed calls from her parents and the texts from her brother and sister to open the texts from Gail.

**10:19 P.M.: **_The one I hate is backkkk_

**10:19 P.M.: **_Next time I'll be ready for her_

**10:33 P.M.: **_She's gone, thank GOD_

**10:33 P.M.: **_It's good that you left because I know I wouldn't get away with killing her without your nerdy help_

**10:34 P.M.: **_This place needs DO NOT DISTURB signs for the doorknobs_

**10:34 P.M.: **_Sleeping now ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ_

Holly smiled, tapped a reply, and made her way to her bedroom. She quickly stripped out of her clothes and crawled under the covers, desperate for some shut eye. She flopped around trying to get comfortable. Unsuccessful, she clutched Gail's pillow and stared up at the ceiling until sleep finally came.

_"Say those words like there's nothing else"_  
>- <em>James Morrison "I Won't Let You Go"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Not as much Elaine Peck in this chapter as some of you were expecting but she'll be back soon...  
>As always, I love hearing what you guys are thinking, and I'm so so grateful for all your viewsreviews/favs and follows!**


	6. Chapter 6: By Your Side

_"Lay me down tonight, lay me by your side"_

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><p>"This is dumb," Gail stared at the orderly with a serious look on her face. "I was <em>never<em> not able to _walk_ you know," she huffed as she sat down in the wheelchair.

"Just procedure, ma'am," he said with a chuckle and a smile. Gail definitely wasn't the first patient to protest to a wheelchair while being discharged.

Gail rapped her fingers on the armrest as he wheeled her out, "what if...I just, hopped up and ran ahead?" She stared straight ahead because she knew turning or bending her neck to face him would probably be painful.

"You _know_," Holly piped up, "I _could_ leave you here a little longer-"

"No," Gail quickly rescinded.

Forty-five minutes ago Holly was at work when her phone pinged, notifying her she had gotten a text message. Normally she silenced her phone, or at least put it on vibrate, when she was at work. Since Gail was in the hospital though, she felt justified in keeping the ringer on. She glanced over the screen and paused what she was doing when she saw that it was from Gail.

'_THEY SAID I CAN GO HOME COME GET ME NOWNOWNOWNOW'_

Holly quickly put away what she was doing and gathered her bag and rain coat. Just for fun she typed back _'...'_ as she was shutting off the lights in her office.

Seconds later she received a response complete with a puppy dog emoji.

'_PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE'_

And another;

'_I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU'_

Holly threw her bag onto the passenger seat and quickly tapped out, _'I'm getting in the car now'_ with her right hand as she shut the door with her left.

"I've got a couple of things I could go finish up at work and then come back?" Holly smirked.

The orderly chuckled and Gail widened her eyes, "this rides like a dream, you know" Gail patted the armrest with the heel of her left palm. "What kind of millage do you get on this thing?" Gail directed her question to the orderly.

"Thought so," Holly smiled as she called the elevator.

It had been raining rather hard when Holly left her apartment that morning. Although the precipitation had stopped by the time she ran out of the lab it had remained overcast, and now the rain had started up again. It was only a light drizzle, barely noticeable for pedestrians, incredibly aggravating for motorists. It was the kind of rain that there was just _not_ an appropriate windshield wiper speed for. No matter what your strategy they were bound to make that awful wet scraping noise sooner or later. Unless, of course, your strategy was to forgo the wipers all together; stubborn and dangerous but much easier on the ears.

Holly threw her raincoat around her shoulders and waved goodbye to the orderly, "I'll bring the car around, I'll just be a second," she said, turning her attention to Gail.

"Are you nuts?" Gail looked out over the parking lot, spying Holly's car in the short term parking row only an aisle away. "Walking down the steps is practically halfway to the car anyways," Gail threw the plastic bag of her belongs the hospital had been storing over her left shoulder and bounded down the steps. It was pretty much her probably ruined uniform, and her watch. Frank had taken her gun, duty belt, and memo pad back to the station.

Holly hurried to catch up while trying to fish her keys out of her bag, "well it's raining," she rationalized.

"Um, barely," Gail countered. "Pretty sure I've gotten wetter by being spit on."

"Well, it's kinda cold," Holly threw her bag in the backseat as Gail climbed into the front.

Gail waited until Holly turned the car on and leaned over to read the outside temperature on the dashboard, "it's sixty-two degrees outside. You're from Toronto. If you think this is cold you're going to be in for it in a couple months."

"Fine," Holly huffed as she exited the parking lot.

Gail smiled victoriously and started fiddling with the radio. Five nights in the hospital and Gail couldn't help but tap her foot against the floor anxiously. She almost felt like she had escaped. Dr. Williamson had signed her discharge papers eagerly after scheduling her follow up visits but for some reason Gail couldn't help but feel like she was breaking some rule. Maybe it was because the last time she had spent a night in the hospital she had stayed long after they said she could leave. Maybe not.

* * *

><p>"Mother fucker," Gail winced as she inadvertently raised her right arm while struggling to get her sweater off.<p>

Holly paused in front of the bathroom mirror, toothbrush still deep in her mouth, and called out into her bedroom, "do you want that hand after all?" She spit out her toothpaste and turned the sink on to rinse her mouth and the brush.

Gail appeared in the doorway, "if you _insist_," she huffed, blowing away a strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail during her struggle and into her eyes. Gail had accepted defeat; time to bring in the reinforcements.

Holly returned her toothbrush to it's stand and dried her hands on a towel. "You can take this thing off to change," Holly lightly tapped the strap of Gail's sling. She unbuckled the two straps before carefully bringing the top one around Gail's head and hanging it on the bathroom doorknob. Gail huffed. Holly helped her slide her left arm out of it's sleeve before popping the sweater over her head and down her right arm.

"_Gail_," Holly let out a sharp gasp as she came face to face with Gail's darkly discolored ribcage.

"What?" Gail protested before Holly started to lightly trace the blue and purple patterns that thudded across her right side. "Oh, right," Gail automatically inhaled at Holly's touch. Gail tapped her bare foot on the tiled floor, "getting a little chilly over here," she said, looking up at the ceiling while thrusting the t-shirt in her left hand towards Holly.

"Does it hurt?" Holly slid Gail's right arm into the short sleeve of the t-shirt, putting it on in reverse of removing the sweater.

"It feels like kisses from a unicorn," Gail bit her bottom lip and turned to head to bed.

Holly sighed, grabbed the sling off the doorknob, and followed Gail out of the bathroom. "Don't forget this," Holly wiggled the sling in front of her from side to side.

Gail forced a smile, "How could I forget?" She huffed and puffed as Holly helped her get it back on. "I hate this thing," she grumbled as she burrowed under the covers.

"Yeah, well," Holly pushed herself off the bed and made her way to the door to turn off the overhead light, "if you don't wear it you'll be way more likely to dislocate it again."

"Thanks Doctor Downer," Gail grumbled as she stretched over her right side with her left arm and tossed her phone back onto the nightstand. "It makes me look like a broken nutcracker."

Holly smiled and slid into the other side of the bed before reaching over and shutting off the lamp. Gail turned her head to the side to look at Holly but her eyes hadn't adjusted to the blackness yet.

"Are you mad at me, nerd?" Gail posed her question to the dark room.

"What? No," the covers rustled and Gail heard Holly's hair shift on the pillow.

Gail stretched her left arm out and poked at Holly's side, "you're so far away."

Holly flipped over and grabbed Gail's poking hand, "I don't want to kick you in my sleep or something."

Gail squeezed Holly's hand, "there's one person in this bed who kicks in her sleep, and that person is _not _you. And that's a fact."

Holly scooched a little closer to Gail and kissed the top of her good shoulder, "I'm really glad you're okay." Holly let the side of her head sink down into the pillow.

"I'm glad. That would really suck for you if you weren't."

Holly flicked the pillow next to Gail's ear, not harming her in any way, but sending an unpleasantly loud whiff of air into her ear, "shut _up_."

* * *

><p>Gail woke up alone. There was barely any light coming in through the window and her arm itched. She reached under the fabric of the sling and rubbed up and down her forearm. Gail really hated this thing. Not only did it make her look like a first class loser but it itched. 'I'm probably fucking allergic,' she thought as she looked up at the ceiling. Another thing Gail hated about it was that it forced her to sleep on her back. Gail does <em>not<em> like sleeping on her back. It's her least favorite way to sleep and she's pretty sure it makes her snore a little bit. Gail let her head flop to the left and she saw, folded in half to a point, the note Holly had left. She grasped for it lazily, bringing it up to her face. It was mostly dark in the room but Gail was able to make out the running stick figure Holly had drawn. Underneath she had quickly scrawled, _'back by 7'._ Gail unceremoniously flung her arm in the other direction, onto the nightstand, and groped around for her phone. She pressed the home button with her thumb and the screen exploded with light. Gail blinked a couple of times before she was able to read that it was six forty-nine. She dropped her phone onto the covers next to her and closed her eyes as the burning died down.

She laid there in the dark silence for a few minutes. If she was going into work she would have to start thinking about getting out of bed. She'd have to brush her teeth, wash her face. If she was going to work she'd have to make sure she had a clean uniform in her locker, not hanging in the closet. She still gets mini panics about keeping tabs on her uniforms. If she was going to work she'd have to get dressed; she'd have to make sure she brought a clean pair of socks for when she changed into her duty boots. It was time to start contemplating bringing a pair of wool socks along. The only thing worse than having thin socks while on patrol during the winter was having thick socks on while on desk duty during the winter. Gail found that it's best to keep a pair of each in your locker _and_ bag. Gail heard the door to the apartment unlock and open. She heard Holly's sneakers squeak on the floor as she toed them off. Holly's footsteps were getting closer. Gail was _always_ early to parade. If she was going to work she'd have to get out of bed now. _If_ she was going to work.

"Hey, you're up."

Holly's words brought Gail out of her thoughts and made her blink twice. "Yup," she said with a pop.

Holly gave Gail's foot a squeeze on her way to the bathroom and called over her shoulder, "well, if you wanted to make some coffee..."

Gail sat up in bed as she heard the water shoot out of the shower head. Coffee. Coffee that didn't come from the hospital. Coffee that didn't taste like water. Coffee that didn't taste like water mixed with last night's barroom floor sludge. _Real_ coffee. She flung the covers away and quickly spun her feet to the floor. It kind of hurt her ribs. It more than kind of hurt, but Gail didn't care. She rose to her feet and scampered into the kitchen. She grabbed the kettle off the stove on her way to the sink and clanked it against the faucet as she turned it on with the same hand. After she threw the kettle back onto the stove and turned the burner on full blast Gail made her way over to the fridge and yanked the freezer open. _Jesus_. She almost knocked herself across the face with the door. "Being a fake lefty sucks," she mumbled aloud. She found the open bag of coffee and peeked inside. _Thank god_ the beans didn't need be to ground. Gail tossed the bag onto the counter and plucked Holly's french press off the drying rack by the sink. She dug a spoon out of the drawer and held the bag of grounds awkwardly in her right hand, and scooped them out with her left.

Holly sauntered into the kitchen a few minutes later, fresh from the shower. Gail was standing in front of the counter with a bowl of cereal in front of her, and only half a cup left in her coffee mug.

"Morning," Holly breezed past Gail, dropping a kiss to her cheek, headed straight for the coffee.

"This sucks," Gail huffed before clumsily shoving a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. The spoon had been heaping when Gail raised it from the bowl, but by the time it made it to her mouth it was significantly less full.

"Want me to feed you?" Holly flipped over the mug Gail had set out for her and poured it full of coffee.

"Over my dead body," Gail scoffed. "Not an invalid, remember?"

"Well," Holly dug the cream out of the fridge, "don't say I didn't offer," she turned to face Gail with a smile.

"How _very_ kind of you," Gail forced another bite in.

"Wow!" Holly brought the cup down from her lips, having taken a sip, "this is _strong._"

"More like _amazing_," Gail corrected as she turned away from the counter to face Holly.

Holly's eyebrows shot up at what Gail had done with her sling.

"I _hate _this thing. _Hate_. So don't get what I'm about to say twisted. It makes doing everything and anything a chore, it looks super dorky, makes _me_ look lumpy,it's _beyond_ synthetic, and it _itches _more than fleas in the summer," Gail nodded down to her sling. It was pretty heavy duty as slings went. Her doctor explained that it helped the shoulder joint rest so that the ligaments could heal more fully, and at the proper angles, as opposed to a traditional, simple sling. That came at a price though. Thick padding kept her elbow a good five inches away from her ribs, and her forearm stretched out in front of her parallel to the floor, and perpendicular to her torso. It was almost as though she was sitting upright at a desk and was resting her right forearm on the table top. Not that Gail ever sat up straight though. This meant a strap that connected to the foam support and went around her waist; embarrassing. Another strap connected to the foam support, went across her chest, and then split to go over and under her good shoulder; embarrassing. It might have looked halfway cool if she was able to properly grip her gun in the hand that rest there, useless. "_But_, I'm gonna make it work for me when I can," Gail had placed her bowl of cereal on the foam support and reached in for another spoonful.

Holly let one eyebrow fall but kept the other peeked at attention as Gail shoved the bite into her mouth.

"I'm thinking I could carve out a little section as a cup holder. The foam would work as a koozie," Gail mused, "and I could just pop the little bugger back in when I'm not keeping a drink there."

"Well, I can't say that's not clever," Holly brought the mug back up to her lips for another sip. She was definitely going to have to nurse this cup.

"Hey, could you drop me at my place on your way to work? Dov and Chris have the day off and they were gonna make drunken Latkes or something." Holly smiled and Gail quickly added, "I don't want them to burn the place down."

"Of course," Holly smiled as she made her way to her bedroom to get dressed, "I bet they've missed you too."

Gail rolled her eyes and tipped the rest of the contents of her cereal bowl into her mouth.

* * *

><p>Gail pivoted the box of doughnuts she had brought open. She had banged on the door to Chris's one bedroom on the first floor and dragged him upstairs with her. "One of you losers has to drive me to my PT appointment because I can't drive and man the radio with one hand."<p>

Chris grabbed a doughnut, "yeah sure," he said with a smile, "Holly already texted us-"

Dov swiftly elbowed Chris in the side as he reached for a doughnut himself.

"I mean, where is it? We can all get lunch after," Chris tried to recover with a smile.

Gail narrowed her eyes, "don't you mean _when_ Diaz?"

Chris shoved a huge bite into his mouth, "mmhm," he smiled.

* * *

><p>Dov looked up at the wall clock, "one more round before we gotta go?"<p>

Gail tapped her phone, not wanting to twist her neck. "You're on," they had to leave in twenty-five minutes to get to her appointment. Not like she was looking forward to it. Luckily, playing Death Domain wasn't actually that hard with her sling. Gail just had to hold the controller a little to her right. Dov had been beating her a little more than usual but Chris was still getting his ass whipped most of the time. Their game was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Chloe?" Chris asked without taking his eyes off the screen.

Dov furrowed his brow but kept on playing, "uh, she was spending the whole day with her sister."

Gail looked at Dov as he paused the game and stood. He looked back at her with a questioning look, "don't look at _me_," Gail played a face of innocence as Dov made his way around the couch to the door. He unlocked the deadbolt and swung the door open.

"Ah, Officer Epstein, _so_ good to see you again."

Gail locked eyes with Chris as both pairs went wide.

"Oh, really ma'am, I'm off duty; call me Dov."

It was her mom_._ _Superintendent_ mom.

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><p><em>"Lay me down tonight, lay me by your side"<br>_- _Sam Smith "Lay Me Down"_

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><p><strong>AN: Superintendent Mom coming your way next chapter.  
>Thanks <em>so<em> much to all of you who have read/favorited/followed the story! A special thanks to all of you who take the time to review. I _love_ hearing what you guys are thinking; I live to read your comments.  
>Until next time,<br>xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7: My Worried Eyes

**A/N: I realized after reading through this chapter that if you haven't read the prequel to this story reading chapter 13 would probably provide a lot of context in terms of Gail and her career... Probably not necessary but you can hop over there from my author's profile. Pick your poison.**

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><p><em>"You saw all my faults, did you hear my cries as you watched me fall? But you paid no mind to my worried eyes, I am doing just fine but then I'm just tired"<em>

* * *

><p>Chris and Dov stood shoulder to shoulder in the open space behind the couch. They stared at the closed door in silence.<p>

Chris finally spoke up, "Gail's probably so pissed." He turned his neck to look at Dov.

"Yup," Dov agreed. "Wait," Dov turned to face Chris, "you don't think she's gonna be pissed at _us_ though, right?" Dov sounded a little worried. "There was nothing we could have done. We _tried_."

Chris shifted his feet to face Dov with his body as well as his face, "I don't know, man." Chris crossed his arms over his chest, "I mean it's _Gail_. So, she'll probably be like _angry_? At like everything?" He raised his eyebrows in question. Chris gestured toward Dov with one hand but kept his other arm close to his chest, "I mean, I don't think she'll be mad at _us_. Not anymore than she will be at anything else, ya know?"

Dov nodded his agreement, "right. _We_ didn't call her mom or anything."

"Right!" Chris agreed.

"And we said we'd still take her," Dov motioned with his palm facing up.

"Right!" Chris started to smile a little bit. "I even made up that thing about my pediatrist."

"That was stupid," Dov shook his head.

"Well I tried," Chris insisted as he took a seat on the sofa back. "It's not like you came up with anything better."

Dov gave Chris a playful slap on the shoulder, "well we better get you to that appointment," he joked.

* * *

><p>"I looked up your physical therapist," Elaine reported as she turned onto the main road, "according to the internet she's very good."<p>

"Yeah, I _know_ mom," Gail rolled her eyes. "Dr. Williamson _recommended_ her for shoulder injuries."

"Well you never know what kind of inside wheeling and dealing they're doing," Elaine clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

Gail bit her bottom lip, grateful that the drive to her appointment was only about ten minutes. Actually, her mom was kind of a crazy driver, so maybe even less.

"They're not going to prosecute the man who hit your squad. They've revoked his license, though."

Gail played with her left earlobe, "yeah, Sam told me. Wasn't really the guy's fault. Just an accident," she sighed.

Gail's mom huffed, "no one over seventy should be allowed behind the wheel," she tightened her grip as she accelerated through a yellow light.

Gail looked over at her mom for the first time since getting in the car, "is that a promise?"

Elaine didn't miss a beat, "get me a full time driver every year for Christmas and it's a deal," she stopped almost short at a red light and winked at Gail. "There's talk of a commendation, you know?" Elaine sounded pleased with herself.

Gail groaned, "_why_? Because my rookie stopped in an intersection and we got run over by someone's grandfather?"

"_No_," Elaine shook her head slightly, dismissing Gail's sass, "_because_," she emphasized, "you picked out, and brought in a child abductor, _and_ got the child returned home safe. They think he might be a serial killer you know. Still piecing the whole story together but he looks pretty good for at least four similar kidnappings."

"Well, _I_ didn't bring him in, _remember?_" Gail was quick to downplay her involvement.

"Well, you tailed him, and were the first one to notice him in over twelve hours, and three hundred and fifty miles."

Gail didn't respond but looked down at her phone when it flashed with a new text. Gail had taken a picture of her mother's back as she walked down the hallway out of their apartment. She had sent it to Steve, supplying the caption, '_Kidnapping in progress. Subject is a white female, late fifties, about 5' 6". Answers to 'mom.''_

Steve had responded, _'trying to get a BOLO out. Black Suburban, plate number XC30?'_

Gail smiled and typed back, _'how'd_ _you know?'_

Steve's response came quickly, _'many old reports of that subject going back about thirty years.'_

"_Gail, _are you listening?" Her mom's words cut through her thoughts. Gail looked up and she saw that they were pulling into the parking lot.

"Huh?"

"I _said_, have you been following your doctor's instructions?" Elaine pulled into a parking space and shut the car off.

"_Yes_, mom," Gail turned in her seat to open the door with her left hand, "I'm not _stupid_."

"I never said you were stupid," Elaine pointed the remote at the car to lock up, "I was just asking a _question_." She quickened her pace to catch up with Gail who had sped along towards the automatic doors.

After she checked in with the receptionist Gail plunked herself down in a chair in the waiting room. Her mother had shown up at her apartment and _insisted_ on driving Gail to her appointment. Gail would have wondered how Elaine found out when her appointment was but that was useless; her mother knew everything. It probably wasn't too hard to find out either since the city handled her health insurance, and the department needed to keep tabs on her medical leave and rehabilitation. Gail thumbed through the magazines on the end table. Her mom had dragged her out of the apartment ten minutes before she was planning on leaving, leaving her with over fifteen minutes to kill before her session started. That is, if it started on time.

"You know," Elaine's eyes were on her iPhone as she scrolled through her email, but her mind was elsewhere, "you shouldn't let this go to waste, Gail."

Gail knew this was coming. She knew this is why her mother had kidnapped her from her _own_ apartment on her way to her _own_ appointment. "Make the most of my time in the waiting room?" Gail picked a magazine at random and flopped it onto her lap, eager to make it look like she was busy. "I could practice my cartwheels I guess. Haven't done those in a long time."

"Don't be absurd, Gail," Elaine scoffed. "This arrest looks very good on you, now's the time to push yourself."

"It wasn't even my arrest," Gail kept her eyes trained on the magazine. She just realized it was all about bicycling. Drat.

"Yes," Elaine turned her body to face Gail and lifted her eyes from her phone, "we've established that, dear, but that's not really the whole point."

Gail just nodded and flipped through the magazine, trying to find something not about bikes.

"Maybe you got lucky, maybe you didn't, but regardless,_ now's_ when you should use the timing to _your_ advantage."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Gail immediately regretted her question because it gave her mother another in.

"Well, Gail, detective rotations are coming up," Elaine twirled her phone in her hand, "you could put together an application that isn't a last minute _joke_ this time." Her words were cutting, but they were true. Gail _had_ half-assed her application last time. But what her mom didn't see was that Gail hadn't bombed it because she couldn't be bothered, or because she didn't care. Gail hadn't _wanted_ the detective rotation. She could have given Traci a run for her money if she had _wanted _to. Sure, she didn't want it because she didn't want one more reason to be seen as a Peck Puppet; she didn't want there to be another reason for her friends to see her as a brown noser, just a white shirt waiting to happen. But, if she was being honest with herself, that wasn't really the _real_ reason. She didn't want it. Gail didn't want to be a detective. Steve was right; she would hate it. Gail essentially _had _to apply. Her mom thought she put together a dismal application because she was lazy, flighty, not caring whether or not she lived up to her potential, when in reality it was just the only way to at least appease everyone. "Your father says I can check my stocks on this thing but I can't find where," Elaine thrust her phone at Gail.

"It's the app called 'Stocks,' Mom," Gail grabbed the phone anyway and pointed it out.

Elaine took the phone back with a smile which quickly turned to a frown, "I don't care about any of these."

Gail rolled her eyes, "so put in the ones you _do_ care about." This magazine was no better, it was about snowboarding; what a snorefest.

Elaine started puttering around the app, not sure really sure what she was doing, "you're being proactive with your portfolio aren't you?"

Gail looked up at the clock, "I do what Rich tells me to do, Mom."

"You should really pay more attention, Gail. You really shouldn't just let it all sit there."

Gail sighed.

"It would give you something to do while you're on leave," Elaine brought the phone farther away from her face in an attempt to see the screen better. "So, you'll put in an application for the detective rotation. Steve can look it over with you."

"_Mom_," Gail was exasperated, "I don't _want_ to do a rotation with the D's."

Elaine released a steady breath, leaned back in her chair and let her hand clutching her phone rest on her thigh, "well then, tell me Gail, what _do _you _want_ to do? Huh? Because you can't float around at fifteen forever."

"Actually," Gail turned to face her mom, "I _could._ That is, if I _wanted_ to, I _could_."

Elaine almost laughed, "don't be childish Gail. There's no sense in dragging your heels just so you can say you did."

Gail looked away from her mom, her eyes dropped down to the magazine but she didn't really see what was on the page. Her mom had won that round for sure; per usual. Of course she didn't just want to 'float around', as her mom had put it. She wasn't ready to share yet though. She wasn't ready to open up her aspirations to her mom yet. Elaine would poke and prod them, leave them riddled like Swiss cheese. Gail wasn't ready to share yet. So her mom could win that round.

A few minutes passed until Elaine piped up again, "how's Holly?"

Gail was only half listening, "they're fine."

Elaine uncrossed and recrossed her legs while she chuckled, "how many Holly's do you know?"

"What?" Gail wasn't sure what was going on, "one?"

"I asked _how Holly_ was," Elaine clarified as she sifted through the magazines trying to find something bearable.

"Oh. Good?" Gail answered skeptically, wondering where the sudden change in subject had come from and what her mother's angle was. Well, actually, the _change_ in subject was obvious; Elaine had said what she wanted to say and Gail hadn't been able to refute it. Elaine had one. She checked that off her list and moved on.

"Yeah?" Elaine had found yesterday's paper and searched for the local new section.

"Yeah..." Gail spoke with a little trepidation, she was still wondering where this was going.

"You sure?" Her mom sounded casual, almost like she was asking an eight year old Gail if she was confident in her answer to five times five.

"Why?" Gail forced herself not to shift in her seat but glanced up at the clock again.

"Well," the paper rustled as Elaine opened it up to a middle page, "you _did _just get hit by a car, sweetheart." She was so matter of fact, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Maybe it was.

Gail groaned, "_I_ didn't get hit by a car, my _squad_ got hit by a car...while I was inside." Gail fiddled with the hem of her sweater, "you make it sound like I got plowed over."

Elaine kept her eyes trained on the paper, her voice even and casual, "well it's probably the same to her."

Gail stared at the page without reading a word for a moment. Her muscle memory kicked in, circling the wagons. Gail didn't move a muscle, didn't show a reaction at all, but her mind had taken off. Only a moment later the receptionist called for Gail, saying she could head on in.

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><p><em>"You saw all my faults, did you hear my cries as you watched me fall? But you paid no mind to my worried eyes, I am doing just fine but then I'm just tired"<em>  
><em>- Night Beds "Lost Springs"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Things might to slow down a wee bit on my end as I mercilessly stalk twitter for behind the scenes pics...we all have our crosses to bare. You guys are all dolls for reading and reviewing, keep 'em coming! They're like candy to me!**


	8. Chapter 8 Fortuneteller Said I'd Be Free

_"Lighten up the atmosphere, keep me warm inside our bed, I got dreams of you all through my head. Fortuneteller said I'd be free, and that's the day you came to me."_

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><p>"You're mad," Gail peeked over at Holly in the driver's seat through the corner of her eye.<p>

Holly laughed dryly, as if she had been caught but wasn't going to admit it, "what?" She flicked on her turn signal before making the right, "why would you say that?" Holly kept her eyes glued to the road.

"Is it because Dov and Chris cut the cup holder in my sling?" Gail subconsciously ran her fingers up and down the foam cushion, feeling the seam where Dov had used an exacto knife to cut out a cylinder perfectly sized for a bottle or can. Gail had mentioned that it would be 'way cool' that morning, and once Elaine delivered Gail back to her apartment Chris and Dov had spent most of the afternoon planning and executing the alterations. It wasn't really a big deal, she could take it in and out as she pleased. Gail doubted her physical therapist would notice, _although_ she did seem pretty clever and snappy. She definitely wasn't going to let Gail phone it in. Chris hadn't really done much except wince every time he thought Dov was about to cut himself.

Holly pulled into her parking space outside her building and looked at Gail sideways, "I'm just glad Dov didn't lose any fingers." Holly wiggled the key out of the ignition and hopped out of the car.

"Is it because I did the robot?" Gail thought back over their time at the Penny. Chris and Dov had dragged her, willingly, there once the clock struck five. They were celebrating her newly regained freedom. That's how Dov had put it. It was the first time any of his friends had been back in the hospital overnight since Chloe had been shot, and he had clearly been a little jostled by it. Gail had been spending most nights at Holly's, especially when she wasn't working the next day, but her absence from the apartment had taken on a new meaning to him. So they had gone to the Penny. Practically everyone showed up for at least a drink or two. Noelle left Frank with the kids and had her first adult evening in what felt like years. Holly had come by after spending a long day hunched over a microscope.

Oliver was a few drinks in when he shoved some quarters into the jukebox and selected 'Mr. Roboto.' He received a fair amount of ribbing for his selection. However, Gail had eventually jumped at the chance to put her newly prescribed accessory to good use, and did the best 'robot' most of the officers had seen. Oliver tried to outdo her, but he was a little too drunk to pull off the 'stiff' look.

Holly narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to the side, displaying her confusion, as she held the door to her building open for Gail.

"Well, I don't know," Gail walked ahead and called the elevator while Holly checked her mail, "Oliver said he wasn't allowed to do head spins. Am I not allowed to do the robot?" Gail walked into the elevator when the doors opened almost immediately but placed her hand in the doorway while Holly caught up.

Holly chuckled, "what are you talking about?"

"Oliver said once that Zoe told him he wasn't allowed to do head spins," Gail followed Holly out the elevator and down the hall to her door, "so, I don't know, am I not allowed to do the robot or something?"

Holly smiled as she unlocked her door and held it open for Gail to enter, "Oliver did head spins?"

"I guess?" Gail made her way to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water, "strippers and hard drugs weren't allowed either, but that's not the point."

Holly sifted through her mail, tossing out the junk and leaving the important stuff on her counter for later.

Gail leaned up against the sink and took a long sip from her glass, "well you're mad about something," she narrowed her eyes as if that would make her able to see what was going on in Holly's mind.

Holly tossed her last piece of mail into the trash, crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned her hip against the counter, "why do you say that?" It was a challenge; Holly was baiting her. If Holly could dismiss Gail's reasons for concern then she would have nothing to do except accept defeat.

"Well," Gail narrowed her eyes a little more and put her glass down on the counter, "you're being _weird._"

Holly didn't move; Gail would have to do better than that.

"This _isn't_ fair," Gail insisted, lightly stomping her foot on the floor, "because I can't cross my arms too," Gail motioned to her sling, defeated, with her left hand.

Holly laughed, uncrossed her arms, and turned toward her bedroom, "I'm going to bed," she threw it over her shoulder with a smile. She wasn't going to engage anymore, it was almost as if she was amused by Gail's antics. Gail was hot on her heels, like a dog with a bone. But she knew she had to be strategic. Gail sat on the edge of the bed and watched intently as Holly puttered around, getting ready for bed.

Holly walked out of the bathroom, reaching around her head, taking her hair down from it's ponytail. She gave Gail a sideways look, silently asking 'whatcha doing?'

"Help?" Gail asked simply, nodding down to her sling.

Holly ducked her chin, conceding a smile, and said, "of course."

Gail stood and took off her newly modified sling, tossing it onto the bed. Holly started helping Gail out of her sweater and into a t-shirt wordlessly. "So my mom kidnapped me today," Gail broke the silence.

"Oh yeah? Who payed the ransom?" Holly was always quick and Gail loved that. Even though it was a challenge, it was one she welcomed.

"Oh I did. I always do," Gail laughed, "she took me to my PT appointment."

"Oh good," Holly smiled and patted Gail's hip now that she was changed.

"Yeah, well," Gail walked over to the bathroom to brush her teeth, "it was awful." Honestly, the thing that Gail hated most about her mother was that she was usually right. She was _definitely_ overbearing, and harsh, and insensitive, but usually the base of her mushroom cloud of a lecture was spot on.

Holly crawled under the covers as Gail continued.

"Oh," she called out from the bathroom, mouth full of foamy toothpaste, "you're _so _busted."

"Who, me?" Holly asked as she checked the alarm on her phone and plugged it in to charge for the night.

"Yeah you," Gail jabbed, "for telling Chris and Dov that they had to take me to my appointment. _And_ you told them _when_ it was, _and _where."

Holly cringed; busted indeed.

"As if I was going to ditch or something," Gail rolled her eyes as she spit out her toothpaste. Holly was about to cut in but Gail continued on, "didn't matter anyways though. My mom showed up there to take me. Like I was fourteen or something." Gail made her way out of the bathroom and started at putting her sling back on, "she asked about you," she added casually.

"Oh yeah?" Holly rolled onto her right side to face Gail as she crawled into bed.

"Didn't ask about _me, _might I add. Well, not in a polite way at least."

"Well, then she wouldn't be Elaine Peck, would she?" Holly had quickly come to the conclusion that when it came to Gail's mom it was best to gently agree without getting Gail riled up.

"Are you sure you're not mad?" Gail was laying on her back with her left cheek to the pillow.

"Gail," it was a quiet, gentle but stern warning, "I'm just really exhausted, okay?"

"_Fine_," Gail gave in, for now, as she gently tugged on Holly's left hand, urging her curl up to next to her.

Holly gave in, nestling into Gail's side, draping her arm across Gail's middle, "you sure this doesn't hurt?" Holly asked anxiously.

"_Duh_," Gail answered as though it was the simplest thing in the world as she started running her hands through Holly's hair. Holly let out a deep sigh and Gail kissed the top of her head. She could tell Holly was already asleep.

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><p><em>"Lighten up the atmosphere, keep me warm inside our bed, I got dreams of you all through my head. Fortuneteller said I'd be free, and that's the day you came to me."<br>- The Goo Goo Dolls "Come to Me"_

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><p><strong>AN: But actually, if my arm's ever in a sling I'm totally customizing that betch. Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed! You're all super great! Keep it up!**


	9. Chapter 9: Can You Stand the Rain?

_"Sunny days, everybody loves them, tell me baby can you stand the rain? Storms will come, this we know for sure, can you stand the rain? Can you stand the rain?"_

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><p>Holly tossed her bag over the console onto the passenger seat, and slinked behind the wheel. She shut the door and rested her head against the headrest, closing her eyes. She contemplated letting herself take a short nap before starting the car to drive home. Today had been brutal. Holly had skipped her morning run and went in to work super early to finish up a report that needed to be done by noon. She knew she wouldn't need more than a couple hours for it, but she didn't want to leave it to chance. And she was right, it was finished not long after her day was to officially start. Plus, she hadn't really been sleeping well lately, so why not head in early? It was a good thing that she had because around ten thirty she heard a stream of curse words emanating from the lab next door. Holly and a couple interns spent the rest of the morning and the early afternoon redoing samples and re-inputting data into the system. She only barely got started on the work that she had planned to do that day. By six o'clock she had been at work for over eleven hours without a break so she said 'screw it' and packed up her stuff. She was running on two coffees, a latte, a bagel, one apple and two bags of chips. She had gotten <em>maybe<em> an average of four hours of sleep over the past three nights.

Holly forced her eyes open and shoved the key into the ignition. The drive home was, once again, no fun. The regular commuter traffic was out in full force and an accident on the 401 made it extra sloggy. Holly wasn't really a fan of how Gail would usually drop her bag onto the floor the second she crossed the threshold. It usually got in the way and someone was likely to trip over it. _Whatever. _Holly let her bag fall to the floor as soon as she opened the door. She made haste of taking off her shoes and it turned into a mini struggle, her bag creating an extra obstacle. In her head Holly cursed how it almost killed her but had _never_ created a problem for Gail. She could smell food coming from somewhere in the apartment so she called out, "what'd you order?" Holly made her way into the kitchen, where she could hear Gail banging around.

"I didn't order anything," Gail shook her head matter-of-factly, like she was keeping a closely guarded secret, and doing a poor job of hiding it.

Holly took in the scene with a little bit of confusion and amazement.

"I cooked!" Gail announced it proudly with wide eyes and a smile, holding up the pair of cooking tongs she had just been searching for.

"You...cooked?" Holly spoke slowly as she subconsciously raised an eyebrow, like she was processing what she was saying as she spoke. "With one hand?"

"Yeah," Gail shrugged as best she could, "I mean, you were running back and forth to the hospital all the time, and taking care of me and stuff so, I don't know. I made dinner."

Holly smiled, "well I'm _starving_."

"Don't be too impressed," Gail brandished the tongs lazily as she spoke, "first off, it's only chicken piccata, aka it's seventy percent pasta. Secondly, Steve brought me lunch and I made him cut stuff up for me. Lastly, it's entirely possible that it tastes like a fourteen year old's unwashed gym socks, so, fair warning..."

Holly sighed and leaned up against the counter, "I wish Steve had brought _me _lunch."

Gail grabbed two plates out of the cabinet and set them on the counter, "I do _cook_ ya know."

"Um," Holly cocked her head up to the sky, thinking dramatically while drumming her fingers on the counter top, "I've seen you cook like _maybe _three times since we met...which was over a year ago."

"_That's_ a lie," Gail rolled her eyes as she dished up the pasta.

Holly grabbed a noodle and quickly devoured it, "I wasn't including microwavable meals or mac and cheese from the box."

"That _still_ counts," Gail was adamant, "maybe not the microwave, but mac and cheese from the box is _legit_."

Holly laughed but didn't argue.

Gail held out a full plate in front of Holly and wiggled it back and forth.

"Thanks," Holly smiled and reached for it, but Gail pulled it back.

"Wanna cut up my chicken?" Gail's eyes were pleading and her smile was wide. It was the kind of face you gave to your hungover friend at seven in the morning as you asked for a ride to the airport.

Holly chuckled, "of course," she grabbed the plate, set it back on the counter, and went about cutting the chicken into bite sized pieces. Steve probably didn't even know _how_ right he was about his daycare comment.

"_For_ the record, Dov couldn't even make mac and cheese from the box when we were rookies," Gail grabbed Holly's plate and brought it over to the table.

"Oh yeah?" Holly called out as she followed Gail.

"He set the fire alarm off at fifteen _twice. _Once for burning popcorn, a second time for blowing up the microwave."

"How'd he blow up the microwave?" Holly was now thankful that every time she'd seen Dov cooking at Gail's apartment they'd all lived.

"Didn't take the _aluminum _wrapper off his Pop-Tart."

Gail had always been somewhat of an eccentric eater. Her mother had spent much effort instilling correct table manners in her children. Gail knew how to sit for a proper meal; her mother had made it impossible to forget. Most of the time though Gail just couldn't care less what she looked like while she ate. Gail didn't really care if she was practically sticking her face in her food. She kinda dove in and didn't come up for air until she was done. This was _especially _true when she was eating noodles, be they in a soup or spaghetti. After the first couple bites Gail came to conclusion that what she made wasn't half bad, so she dove in.

When she finished what was on her plate Gail reached for her glass of water and gulped it down. Gail leaned back in her chair and it was as if she had come back to earth. But all was not right, something had gone wrong in the six minutes it had taken her to wolf down her dinner. Holly's elbow was on the table, her palm in her hand, and Gail could see tears welling in her eyes. Somehow she had eaten most of her food, Gail's left hand must be slowing her down.

"Hol?" Gail's expression quickly changed from one of contentment to concern.

Holly stared, unblinking, seemingly right through Gail.

"_Holly?_" Gail flashed her hand in front of Holly's face and before dropping into the crook of Holly's elbow.

That broke the haze, Holly shook her head, blinked twice, and wiped at her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Gail's voice was laced with concern, urgency, and confusion.

"Nothing, I'm fine, I'm just-ignore this," Holly waved her off but came undone when Gail's thumb started making small circular motions on her arm. The tears come faster now so Holly stood, "you finished?" Holly asked, pointing to Gail's plate.

"_What?_" Gail was on her feet, she found Holly's hand again. She ducked and weaved to catch Holly's eyes. Gail took a step forward and that was all it took for Holly to break. It was like watching a windshield spider; totally shattered but still held together in place. It was a silent sobbing. Gail completely surprised by this turn of events. She tried to move forward and wrap Holly in her arms, but she was down an arm, and her sling was making the logistics rather difficult. She walked Holly over to the couch and sat her down. Gail took a seat on Holly's right and quickly grabbed at the pillow between her right arm and the armrest, placing it on her lap. She pulled Holly down so that her head was resting on the pillow. She gave in, bringing her feet up to rest on the other end of the couch. Gail ran her fingers through Holly's long dark hair while she tried to sort through what was happening. Eventually Holly flipped around so that her back was now to the television and she was facing into Gail's stomach. Gail brushed the hair out of Holly's face, tucking it behind her ear. She continued brushing her fingers through it even as it stayed in place. Gail waited, and after she heard Holly's breathing even out she spoke up, "you didn't have to keep eating it if it wasn't any good." Gail hoped her own insecurity hadn't shown through. Her chest was tight and her mind was racing.

Holly snorted, at least Gail was pretty sure that's what she did, and that could count as a win.

"What's going on?" Gail's voice was soft as she brushed at Holly's cheek with her thumb.

Holly burrowed into Gail's palm, not saying anything.

"_Holly_," it was a gentle warning, a quiet plea.

She sucked in a breath, "you got _hit_ by a _car_," she was quiet, defeated.

Gail sighed, "I'm gonna be mint condition in to time," she weaved her fingers into the hair at the back of Holly's head, "plus," she added, "_I _wasn't hit by a car, my _squad _was."

"Same difference," Holly mumbled into the pillow.

Gail's heart sank. Why was her mom _always_ right?

"You were in the hospital for _days_, you almost needed _surgery_, you're going to be on leave for _weeks, _you have a bruise the size of Africa on your ribcage_,_" her breathes were ragged and uneven, "I don't know how to _do_ that."

"Hey," Gail continued brushing through Holly's hair with her fingers, "it's okay, it's okay."

"What do I do with that?" Holly's eyes were pleading, searching for answers.

Gail bit her lip, she didn't know, "I don't know," she continued to worry on her lip, her eyebrows raised almost in question.

Holly clamped her eyes shut and burrowed deeper into the pillow and Gail's sweater. Gail hadn't done this before. Ever since she was a cop she only dated other cops. She rubbed up and down Holly's back, around her shoulder. The dangers that came with being a police officer had been part of Gail's life since before she was born. She felt Holly's breathing slow and even out. Gail glanced at the time displayed on the cable box; seven fourty-five. She tugged the blanket down that was neatly folded across the back of the sofa. Gail tossed an end down to cover Holly's feet and adjusted the other end to lie over Holly's shoulder. She looked to the table on her left for the remote but it wasn't there. Gail looked around the room, finally spying it on the far corner of the coffee table. Maybe she could drag it closer with her foot. Nope, it was definitely too far away. No matter, Gail had watched far too much television in the past week anyways. She slowly kicked her feet up onto the coffee table and let her head fall back to rest atop the back of the couch. Gail stared up at the ceiling. She was really out of her element here, out of her depth maybe. Gail cursed her friends for dating other cops. Well, Dov hadn't dated cops until Sue, but his relationships with Crystal was beyond screwed up, and then there was Elle? Eve? Evie! The dancer; Dov had gotten in trouble because of that too...the only other person Chris had really dated was Denise. Gail wasn't really a fan, especially after what happened with Christian; she wasn't going there. Stupid Andy just hopped from cop to cop. Actually, Gail realized that she went from a detective, to a training officer, to a constable. The rookies better watch out. Steve seemed to date total bimbos, well until Traci. 'Traci!' It came to her like a good idea in the shower. Traci and Dex were together for a little while after Traci became a cop. Gail thought back. She wondered if Traci was ever really in that relationship enough for them to have that issue. Dex seemed kind of like a desperate dink. _But_, she did relegate herself to desk duty for him, right? Meh, maybe Gail would ask Traci about it later. She couldn't help but worry. What if Holly decided this was too much, that this life wasn't for her, that she couldn't handle it? Gail shook her head, pushing those thoughts away. She looked back to the clock; it was after nine. Gail brushed her thumb along Holly's cheek, tracing her other fingers up and behind her ear. She brushed up Holly's forehead, into her hairline, and combed through deep brunette locks. Holly stirred lightly under the blanket.

Gail took a deep breath, forced a smile, and whispered, "do you wanna go to bed?"

Holly blinked lazily, and silently nodded. Her eyes were sad, but mostly they were tired.

Holly curled into Gail's side as soon as she squeezed under the covers. She was asleep before Gail turned off the light. Gail stared up at the ceiling wondering what she was supposed to do. What to do, what to do?

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><p><em>"Sunny days, everybody loves them, tell me baby can you stand the rain? Storms will come, this we know for sure, can you stand the rain? Can you stand the rain?"<em>  
>- <em>New Edition "Can You Stand the Rain?"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: :( Holly :...(**

**Special guest coming your way in the next chapter! Who will it be?**


	10. Chapter 10: You Might Believe

_"Close your eyes and you might believe that there is some way out"_

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><p>Gail held her mug of coffee loosely in her hand as she shuffled her feet towards the door. She had laid awake in bed for hours last night but still couldn't fall back asleep when she woke up early that morning. Holly had scampered off to work early, saying she had loads she wanted to catch up on before the weekend. "TGIF," she had called out as she shut the door on her way out. Gail was pretty sure Holly was putting on a brave face. Actually, Gail was sure of it; Holly's poker face was not her strongest skill.<p>

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," Gail grumbled, not loud enough for anyone but her to hear. She transferred her coffee to her slinged hand as she checked the peephole. Gail undid the deadbolt and opened the door. "Morning," she forced a smile.

"Hi," Celery smiled brightly, "I just thought I'd swing by and see how you are." She jostled the paper grocery bag in her right hand, "brought a few things for you in my bag of tricks." Celery's beaded necklace made a light clinking noise as she shook the bag. Gail's mind had taken off in a completely different direction though. Celery! Oliver and Celery! Why hadn't she thought of that before?! Celery had even talked to Ford outside Oliver's house before he had been kidnapped. Celery was like the _opposite_ of a cop. "Gail."

Gail shook her head and blinked, "yeah?" She spoke as if she hadn't just completely zoned out, as if she wasn't being called back to the conversation.

"You gonna invite me in?" Celery's smile and light laugh indicated that she was amused. Celery secretly thought Gail was a hoot. Not many people would consider Gail 'normal' but Celery knew few would consider her that either. Celery appreciated odd people and she was able to tell rather quickly that Gail was just that, odd. Although she would never say that she had Gail completely figured out, Celery surmised without much trouble that Gail wasn't a nasty or mean spirited person, her attitude didn't come from a evil place, or even one of apathy. Maybe that's what made Celery unique; she was content to _not_ have everyone _completely_ figured out so long as she knew what was in their heart. Celery was completely contented to accept Gail's eccentricities for what they were. Gail was a lot like Oliver in certain ways, one of them being that her company was never boring.

Gail smiled and her eyes twinkled a little, "right, of course," she spoke with her best poker face and voice. She wasn't overly welcoming, she didn't sound jovial, but Celery knew that if Gail didn't want her to stay that she would have had no qualms with turning her away quickly. Celery knew that an ecstatic response from Gail would have been a fake one, and that the greeting Gail gave her was the most sincere one Gail would ever give to anyone except a very dear friend, possibly anyone except Holly. Gail stepped aside and opened her arm, motioning for Celery to enter.

Celery smiled graciously and followed Gail into the kitchen. "Sorry for just showing up like this, Oliver said you would probably be here since everyone's on shift," she plopped the grocery bag onto the counter. "He also said I should just show up," Celery looked to her right at Gail who nodded knowingly. Celery reached into the bag and pulled out a small white paper bag that was folded over twice at the top, "I should probably take it as a compliment that I got through the door before giving you this."

Gail put her coffee cup onto the counter as her eyes went wide. She immediately recognized the dark blue penguin stamped on the bag. It was from her _favorite_ bakery. Her _and_ Oliver's favorite bakery. "You should," she answered quickly before snatching the bag off the counter and diving in. Gail took the bag with her left hand before unfolding the top, and handing it off to her right.

"That's from Oliver," Celery chuckled, clearly amused. A third party probably would have noticed that Celery seemed to not want to be associated with the sugary, deep fried treat, and was very willing to immediately hand the credit for the purchase off to Oliver. Gail, however, didn't notice. She was too engrossed in what she pulled out of the bag. It was her _favorite_. Gail hated using the term 'favorite' when it came to doughnuts because, really, so many flavor combinations are good, _but_ she could never tire of the 'Boston Cream.' It was her 'go-to' for deliciousness. This place heavily dusted one half of the chocolate frosting with powdered sugar; it was _divine_. Gail held it in her hand and examined it closely for a long moment before taking her first, heavenly, bite. This bakery was a trek from Holly's. Gail hadn't had anything from there since a few days before the accident. Holly had been pushing the 'healthy' food since Gail was discharged on Tuesday. She had ducked into the Tim Hortons a block away from her and Dov's place when Holly dropped her off Wednesday morning but this doughnut was simply on another level. Gail had known better than to ask her mom to make a trip when she picked her up for her appointment.

Celery started unpacking the contents of the paper bag while Gail noshed on her doughnut. Celery knew better than to try and strike up a conversation with the officer now. She made her way over to the oven and filled the kettle up before placing it back on the stove to boil. When she turned back towards the pile of ingredients she had made on the counter Gail was licking her fingers, having finished the doughnut off.

"So," Celery slapped her hands onto the counter and her rings made a clacking noise when they met the cold marble, "how are you feeling?"

Gail shrugged as she finished taking a sip of her coffee, "could be worse." Celery's gaze calmly indicated that she wasn't considering that the end of Gail's explanation so she continued, "my ribs are still pretty sore, but, whatever."

Celery nodded her understanding, "how about your shoulder?" Celery shifted her right hand to rest on the top of her hip.

"Honestly," Gail nodded toward the sling, "when it's in this thing it doesn't really hurt at all, just a little sore sometimes."

"Well," Celery smiled brightly and reached for a tall glass jar on the counter, "I made a healing balm for you."

Gail would never admit to believing in any sort of witchcraft or hippy-dippy herbal sunshine medicine. One of the things that Gail hides is that she's a believer, not in the human race, but in things that we can't really explain. So, she just nodded as Celery continued on.

"Basically, you just rub it onto your skin, so on your shoulder and your ribs, and leave it on for about forty minutes. It's pretty thick so you'll probably have to really work it in to spread it out, which might hurt a little, but it'll be worth it. And, you'll probably want to put it on before you're going to shower in order to get it all off without too much trouble."

Celery slid the jar over to Gail who took it up in her left hand and studied the outside of the jar carefully. Gail lowered the jar from her line of sight and looked up at Celery, "I'm sorry, do you want some coffee or something?" Manners weren't really Gail's thing, and she just realized she was being rude.

"I'm okay, thanks," Celery shook her head and smiled, "actually, I'm making you a tea," Celery shook another glass jar in her hand. Just by looking at it Gail would have guessed it was just regular loose leaf tea. "And this," Celery placed two of her fingers atop a small, cylindrical metal tin, "is a sleep balm. If you're having trouble sleeping just swipe some under your eyes and on your forehead."

Gail flipped the top off with her thumb and brought it up to her nose to smell. She nodded her approval; it smelled mostly like camomile.

Celery held up another baggie of powder, "you can also make this into a tea to help you sleep. It's really strong though, you only need a quarter of a teaspoon for a cup." The kettle started to whistle, signaling the water was boiling. Celery floated around on her waist, pointing up to the cabinets, "mug?"

"Oh, yeah," Gail forgot that Celery was new to the layout of their, well, Holly's kitchen. She opened the cupboard above her head and took a mug out.

"Do you have a tea strainer?" Celery whipped around on her way over to the stove, "I have bags I can use but it'd be such a waste if you have a strainer."

"Uh, yeah," Gail opened the drawer to her left, "Holly's weird like that." Gail rummaged around trying to find it. She never _used_ it herself and never paid any attention to where Holly kept it. Success! Gail handed the strainer over to Celery triumphantly.

"How's she doing?" Celery asked lightly as she started stuffing the strainer with crushed dried leaves.

"Uh, she's good," there was something about Celery that made it really hard for Gail to lie convincingly. "She's pretty tired I think," Gail drummed her fingers on the counter as Celery dunked the strainer into the mug of hot water, "ya know, running around to the hospital all last week, cutting up my chicken."

Celery smiled sympathetically. Empathetically, really, since she had actually been in Holly's shoes. "It can take a lot out of you," Celery looked into the mug as she stirred the strainer around, coaxing the tea to brew along. "You have to let this steep longer than most teas, it takes longer for some of the herbs to come out."

Gail nodded, "I'm not a very patient person."

Celery smiled, she could tell it was a joke, well, a truth said in a way that was meant to be funny. "Holly's a though cookie," Celery talked into the mug as she continued to stir.

"Yeah," Gail agreed halfheartedly as her mind took off.

Celery half laughed, "you don't sound so sure."

Her comment brought Gail back to reality, "who me?" Gail touched her chest and looked around the room as if there was actually a possibility of confusion.

Celery laughed truly this time, "yeah, you," she flashed Gail a smile before dipping her head back down to remove the strainer of tea leaves from the mug. "It's a healing tea," Celery pushed the mug down the counter towards Gail, "It's not the best tasting, I won't lie, but you can take it with milk or cream if you want. But you shouldn't add sugar."

Gail nodded and raised a finger, "cream it is," and made her way to the refrigerator.

Celery seemed to busy herself with her potions, "it was really scary when Oliver got taken. I was pretty shaken up, as you could probably tell."

Gail took a moment when her head was buried in the fridge to get her game face on. She grabbed the cream and turned toward Celery as she shut the door behind her, while offering up a tight smile.

"I mean it's scary right?" Celery continued on as Gail took a sip of the tea before adding any cream.

"Yeah," Gail squinted her eyes and pursed her lips. This was no Earle Grey, but it wasn't the _worst_ thing she had ever drank, by _far_. Gail watched Celery out of the corner of her eye as she poured some cream into the tea.

Celery continued on as she started mixing something else up, with what seemed like practiced measure, "and it's definitely hard on a relationship, but sometimes just talking about it helps. Did you know being a police officer isn't even in the top ten most dangerous jobs?"

"Huh," Gail took another sip and it was _much_ better with cream. She actually did know that, she just didn't want to interrupt Celery's stream of thought. It was something her mom had rattled off whenever a young Steve or Gail expressed any trepidation about their parents' safety. Her mother had always been more factual when she tried to reassure one of them, she seemed to have a list of statistics she would rattle off. Their father had always been more nurturing and soothing when he talked to them about it and Gail used to think that was because he cared more about their feelings that her mother did. Looking back though, as calculated as her mother's responses had always been, there was something oddly reassuring about them. Elaine never seemed to get bogged down in the worry and that actually put Gail at ease a little bit. Even though her facts might have been rehearsed and repetitive they _were_ irrefutable facts and, Gail must admit now, they were Elaine's best effort at calming her children's fears. Gail suspects that if her mom really had found her and Steve's fears silly she would have brushed it off as such. Gail's memory of those instances weren't very strong. She could barely remember a time when her mom was still going out on patrol; she had made Staff Sergeant before Gail's fourth birthday. Her dad wasn't far behind either, he made less of a fuss about it so Gail couldn't remember exactly when he got his white shirt, but she was _sure_ it was before she was seven. She didn't really have a memory of a time when her mom or dad had been hurt on the job. Gail remembers when her dad sprained his ankle once because she was four years old and jungle gym dad was out of commission for the week that he was on crutches. Gail's biggest source of worry had been Steve. The only really remembers worrying when Steve worried. By the time she was old enough to watch scary crime movies or watch the news it was abundantly clear that her parents had boring desk jobs. They each brought her in to work a couple times. The first time she thought it was _way_ cool. After that it was torture.

"Yeah, I mean, there's actually a ton of jobs that are more dangerous than being a cop," Celery started rattling off the few that came to mind as she worked on her mixture.

"Makes sense," Gail was actually starting to like this tea. She needed a burger, _ASAP_.

"How is it?" Celery looked up from her work with a smile, nodding towards the mug Gail held in her hand.

"I've had worse," Gail didn't want to let on that she was actually beginning to _like_ the stuff.

Celery's smile grew a little wider and she turned back towards what she was working on. She picked up right where she left off, without missing a beat or giving off an ounce of trepidation, "Holly's not taking it so well is she?" Celery's voice had shifted. It was less casual, less conversational; she posed a question but her tone suggested she knew the answer.

Gail swallowed her tea louder than anticipated. Celery's words made her nervous, but oddly enough Celery herself didn't make Gail nervous. For whatever reason Gail didn't feel the need to be as guarded with Celery as someone else who she'd had as much contact with. Her chest constricted a little because she knew Celery's words were the truth, and because she didn't know what to do about it.

"Well what do you expect?" Gail's voice was laced with defense, and she was quick to take another sip of her tea.

Celery conceded a nod and started packaging up what seemed to be a finished product. "Hey, I've gotta go to this farmer's market across town to stock up on some things," Celery pointed behind her back towards the window casually.

Gail raised an eyebrow. Shopping with Celery? That could be interesting.

"Anyways," Celery smiled almost shyly, "if you want to come along, get out of the house, get some fresh air, we could stop for lunch."

Gail shrugged, "sure." She was actually _dying_ to get out of the house. She hadn't really been outside much since getting out of the hospital, she'd basically gone from cars to buildings.

"Cool," Celery smiled brightly, "you can help me barter, I bet your mean face will work like magic."

"Thanks?" Gail twisted her face and gulped down the rest of the tea, "lemme just put on some real pants." Gail bounded over to her room to change out of her sweats while Celery packed up her bag of tricks.

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><p><em>"Close your eyes and you might believe that there is some way out"<em>  
>- <em>James Morrison "I Won't Let You Go"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks _so_ much to all of you reading this story, especially those of you who leave me notes! I love it all! This chapter would have been up earlier but then Aliyah O'Brien posted that picture on Instagram and I lost consciousness for a few hours. Okay, not really but it felt like it.**

**No Summer or Gramp Ed in this chapter :( BUT they will definitely be at Thanksgiving! Maybe I'll have Summer pop in before then...**

**ALSO! I know nothing more than what I could find on the internet about being Wiccan so I tried to keep it pretty vague. I think Celery's pretty rad though!**


	11. Chapter 11: All That I Want

_"All the king's horses and all the king's men came charging to get what we got...They offered the crown and they offered the throne; but I already got all that I want..."_

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><p>As soon as Holly opened the door to her apartment she could smell something <em>amazing<em>. It smelled like the smells you hallucinate while watching the Food Network. She hung up her jacket and kicked off her shoes.

"Hellooo," Holly called out as she made her way towards the kitchen. She was a little surprised to find it empty but walked over to the far counter when she noticed slow cooker set up. Holly had _no_ idea what was in it, but it smelled delicious. She lifted the lid and the smell intensified. Her brain had been getting used to the smell since entering the apartment but when she lifted the lid it came rushing back. Holly tensed when she felt an arm snake around her middle, and a body against her back. She relaxed quickly when she realized it was Gail. It always amazed Holly how quiet Gail could be, and how easily the pendulum could swing the other way. Gail could cause more noise than an elephant depending on her mood, energy level, and just how much she _cared_ about what she looked or sounded like at the time. On the other hand, Holly suspected Gail could have walked for miles on bubble wrap in heels without making a sound if she wanted to.

"Hi," Gail placed a kiss on the base of Holly's neck before hooking her chin over and resting it's point on Holly's collarbone.

"You made this?" Holly sounded surprised and impressed yet slightly skeptical.

Gail pursed her lips, moving them from right to left, "what do you think?"

Holly seemed to ponder the situation, taking into account the hint of mystery in Gail's voice, "well, I have learned to pretty much never be surprised by you, _but_ your deflection of my original question makes me _suspicious_."

Gail dug her chin in a little, "that's mean...I think." She narrowed her eyes even though Holly couldn't see them. Gail could see the shift in the visible sliver of Holly's face; she was smiling.

Holly ran her hand down Gail's arm, from her elbow to her hand. She intertwined their fingers and let her arm rest atop Gail's. Holly took the wooden spoon resting on the counter in her other hand and gave the pot a stir. It looked to be a rice base, Holly was pretty sure she saw some chunks of chicken, some black beans, maybe some rosemary leaves, definitely some thyme. She brought the spoon up to her mouth and took a taste.

"Mhhhhh," Holly's eyes went wide and she nodded her approval.

Gail nuzzled her nose under Holly's ear at the back of her jaw. Holly swiveled her head around to give Gail a kiss. Holly had been expecting a quick peck, a 'hello' if you will, but Gail quickly deepened the kiss, her tongue seeking entrance. Gail tugged on the front of Holly's right hip as she took a half step away from the counter so Holly could spin around. Now that they were front to front Gail took a step forward, slightly pushing Holly's back into the counter. Holly couldn't help but moan into the kiss, Gail was insistent but her tongue was soft, gentle, and sweet.

One side of Holly's mouth curved up as Gail pulled away, "what was that for?"

Gail couldn't help but smirk at the fact that Holly still got adorably flustered and blushed when surprised. She shrugged, "I wanted a taste too," Gail nodded toward the crockpot, "it's not bad."

Gail's left arm was looped around her waist so Holly placed her hand on Gail's bicep, "you made that and didn't even try it?" Holly chuckled sounding surprised.

"Well," Gail's eyes danced around the room comically, "it's _possible _that _I_ didn't make it," Gail's eyes finally landed on Holly's as she smiled innocently.

"Oh yeah?" Holly raised an eyebrow, "so who did?"

"Celery did," Gail jutted her head forward a bit and furrowed her brow as if it was obvious.

"She did?" Holly sounded genuinely surprised. She guessed she shouldn't be as surprised as she was. First off, pretty much all of Gail's friends were on shift today, Celery seemed genuinely really caring, _and_ she didn't have a regular nine to five job; popping over during the day probably wouldn't be that hard for her.

"Yeah," Gail said it like it was something Holly had forgotten, "she came over with some magical healing stuff and then took me to the farmer's market."

"She did? That's really nice of her."

"Wait," Gail seemed confused, "you didn't have anything to do with setting up that little playdate?"

"No?" Holly laughed, "so Celery made this for us?"

"Well," Gail stepped to the side and took the spoon in her hand, "I think she made it for _me_," she dunked the spoon in and grabbed a heaping bite.

Holly swatted Gail's butt as she turned away to get some bowls out.

Gail dropped the spoon back onto the counter and fanned her mouth dramatically, "wooowww hhhaaawww," she breathed out.

Holly grabbed a glass and quickly put it under the faucet before giving it to Gail, "a little hot?"

Gail slushed the water around in her mouth before gulping down the rest of the glass, "oh shut _up_."

Over dinner it became pretty clear to Gail that Holly was just going to act as though last night hadn't happened. She rambled on about her day at the lab. Apparently they had caught a pretty interesting case when the hair samples Chris brought in from a scene matched the DNA to a missing person's report from a few years ago. Holly couldn't stop gushing about a body that had been handed over to her early that morning. A high powered and wealthy executive had been found dead in his office early that morning. There hadn't been any signs of fowl play or a struggle, and Holly had been assigned to the autopsy. "So obviously I sent a blood sample off for a tox screen," Holly started off after only a bite of her meal, "and then I started on the body per usual," she continued before she had finished chewing. Gail couldn't help but smile a bit as Holly's usually impeccable table manners fell by the wayside. "Something just seemed _off_ when I cracked his chest," she shoved another small bite in her mouth, "ya know?"

Gail nodded along. Of course, _she didn't_ know, but she could assume that Holly did.

"So I _realized_ he has Levocardia!" Holly raised her hands up as if it was the most amazing thing in the world. Her smile was bright and real as it weaved crookedly up and around her face.

Gail smiled as Holly's eyes twinkled, but she couldn't help but emit a single laugh; obviously she had no idea what 'Levocardia' is, but Holly said it the same as if she had said in plain english 'there was a monkey in his chest.' "Well," Gail smirked, "I'm gonna take 'cardia' as a clue that it has something to do with his heart, but you're gonna have to explain the rest."

Holly swallowed quickly, moving her fork around in a circle in front of her, seemingly in effort to speed herself along, "so basically, it means your heart is in the correct place, but it's backwards!"

Just when Gail thought things couldn't get any nerdier, they did. She secretly loved it.

"So like the four chambers and all the vessels are reversed," Holly's excitement was infectious, "which is _incredibly_ rare. As I continued along I realized he had Situs Inversus, which means all his organs were on the opposite side-"

"_Gosh_ Holly," Gail sassed, "I _know_ what Situs Inversus _is_," she smiled cheekily.

"How rude of me," Holly laughed, "so you must know how rare it is? There's something like a one in ten thousand chance of having it. _Plus_ this guy _also_ had Levocardia, and there's a one in _twenty two thousand _chance in having that."

"Oh yeah?" Gail raised her eyebrows, as nerdy and slightly gross as this was she had to admit, this was pretty cool.

Holly nodded through another bite of chicken, "so normally with Situs Inversus all of your organs are flopped, like a mirror of what they normally are, so the heart is on the right side of the thorax instead of the left. _But_ with Levocardia the heart stays in the usual position but all of it's structures flip over," Holly pivoted her hand, demonstrating the various 'flops' she was mentioning.

"So basically you found the Loch Ness Monster?" Gail pointed with her fork.

Holly smiled, "everyone in the lab _freaked_. I mean, it wasn't in his medical records, it's entirely possibly he had _no_ idea. He had been in good health his entire life. He never had surgery or anything. He basically got his check ups and and a couple prescriptions for antibiotics."

"You took a selfie with him, didn't you?" Gail smiled slyly and speared another piece of chicken.

"I texted my dad and he ran over to see it," Holly continued to gush.

Gail pointed her fork at Holly, "you totally did."

Holly shook her head, "that would be juvenile, unprofessional, and gross."

Gail's smirk blossomed into a full blown grin, "that's not a no."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Holly quickly shoved another bite into her mouth as a blush crept onto her cheeks.

Gail leaned back in her seat, "come on Hol, you can tell me."

"_Fine_," Holly rested her hands on the table, "but I didn't take a selfie with _him_, it took it with the pictures of the organs I took for the report."

Gail smiled triumphantly.

Holly huffed, "and I feel really weird about it still. I might just delete it."

"It's not like you instagramed it or anything," Gail had seen some _weird_ stuff as a cop. Heck, Oliver and Noelle had lead the charge in taking pictures of 'Blue Guy.'"

"Still," Holly worried on her bottom lip, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Whatever, I want to see," God, Holly was such a nerd.

Holly's smile crept back onto her face, "you do?"

Gail nodded.

Holly nibbled on her bottom lip again, "I told Chris about it when he dropped those samples off this afternoon and he practically ran out of the lab."

Gail dropped her fork into the bowl, "Chris is _such_ a wuss sometimes. Seriously, if you ever thought he ditched me at the lab because he was trying to play cupid or whatever, believe me, he _wasn't_."

Holly laughed, able to remember a couple times Chris had volunteered Gail to take some particularly icky evidence to the lab.

"He threw up more times than _anyone_ during our rookie year."

They chatted aimlessly through the rest of dinner. It was almost like any other day that Holly worked and Gail had a day off. When Holly seemed to exhaust her excitement over her day at work Gail told her about how Celery had come over, how they'd gone to the farmers market, how for someone so wholesome and spiritual Celery had could get some intense road rage.

"And this," Gail smiled as she held up one of the baggies of tea from Celery, "she made for you."

"For me?" Holly pointed at her own chest in surprise after she lowered their dishes into the sink.

"Yup," Gail nodded her head up and down.

Holly gave her a perplexed look.

"It's like, relaxing or calming or something," Gail shrugged as if it was no big deal.

Holly didn't say a word but her face said, '_why_ would _I_ need a calming tea?!'

Gail cocked her head to the side, "look she's been there before, when Oliver got taken last year. She knows it's stressful and stuff."

Holly turned her back and busied herself with packaging up the leftovers from the crockpot into tupperware.

Gail rolled her eyes to herself; so they were doing this the hard way. "Don't you think we need to talk about it?"

Holly didn't turn around, "about what?"

Gail resisted the urge to say something biting back, Holly was smart, really smart, and playing dumb just didn't suit her. "About last night?" Gail took a step forward and lightly placed her hand on Holly's lower back, "I-I get it and we should talk about it, you don't have to feel badly."

Holly planted her hands on the edge of the counter at either side of her hips, "look it was stupid-"

Gail moved forwards some more and snaked her arm around Holly's middle just as she had earlier that evening.

"I was just super exhausted and work was awful and long and you should really just forget it," Holly exhaled deeply.

Gail pressed her face into the back of Holly's neck, "you're a really horrible liar. You know that right? Like, God forbid you ever commit a crime."

Holly sighed, "you say that like it's a bad thing."

"It it is when you try to lie," Gail chuckled into Holly's neck.

Holly spun around but didn't say anything.

"Holly," Gail voice had taken a turn, it was serious and tentative, "do you," Gail took a deep breath, "if you need an out because of this, it would-I would-do you need an out?" Gail looked up at Holly with an inquisitive look, her eyebrows peaked above the bridge of her nose.

"No," Holly shook her head fiercely, "no I don't," she moved her hands from the counter to Gail's hips.

But Gail continued on, "because, if you did, I would get it. It's not like you'd be the first person to-I don't want you to-"

Gail was silenced when Holly clamped her left hand over her mouth. Gail looked down over her nose in surprise. Holly waited until Gail's eyes floated back up and locked with her's. "Shut Up. I. Do. Not. Want. An. Out," her voice was strong, her words were determined, "okay?" She kept her hand firmly planted over Gail's mouth.

Her eyes were wide and she nodded in response.

"I can take it. I don't want an out," Holly waited a moment after she finished talking before lowering her hand away from Gail's mouth. She knew Holly could take it, but was she?

"So, what do you want?" Gail was relieved, but then again, she wasn't. Of course she didn't want Holly to leave, but she also wasn't sure of what to do. Gail hated being unsure. All of her life she was sure. Gail was sure she was going to keep going to school, probably major in criminology or law or psychology or something, and then enter the academy, become a rookie, her training wheels would be removed, and then she'd be forced on her mom's fast track to a white shirt. One thing that Gail liked about Steve being her older brother is that she generally knew what was next. He started school before her, he went off to university before her, he applied to the academy before her, he went through the academy before her, he was a rookie before her, he was a detective sergeant before her. Steve was like her taste tester for life. He wasn't above bragging, that's for sure, which gave Gail a pretty good peek around the corner. That is, until now. Gail was used to knowing what was around the horizon, she generally knew what to expect. She knew people probably thought she saw herself as too cool for school when she was a rookie, and she understood why. However, that's not what she felt. She just wasn't as wide-eyed and bushy tailed as everyone else. Gail had known she would be placed at Fifteen Division upon her graduation from the academy even before her first day. She knew she had been accepted well before she got the letter. Hell, she pretty much knew she'd be accepted before she even finished her application. But Gail wasn't sure of this, not at all.

Holly sighed, "I want," she dropped her hands to Gail's hips, "I want you to be an accountant who works from home," she smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

Gail let her head fall to one side, "yeah, I would have died of boredom years ago."

Holly clicked her tongue, "how about someone who takes Apple support calls? People do that without leaving their bed."

"Although the prospect of literally never getting out of bed is a very tempting one, when I call Apple the people I talk to are generally very accommodating, helpful, and nice. So I could maybe keep that job for twenty minutes without strangling myself," Gail raised an eyebrow, any sort of customer service was _not_ her forte.

Holly couldn't help but chuckle. Pleasing people wasn't so much on Gail's radar.

She squeezed Holly's arm playfully, "we need to talk about this," her voice was lighter, still serious, but it almost bordered on jovial, and Gail was almost smiling, she almost laughed.

Holly bit on her bottom lip, "what do you want me to say?"

She wobbled her head from side to side a little, pretending to ponder the question, "that you'll have some of Celery's tea," Gail pinched Holly's hip and broke into a grin.

Holly conceded with a nod.

"Yessss," Gail slid over to the tea kettle and turned it on to boil.

"Do you even know what's in it?" Holly sounded skeptical, almost a little worried.

"Nope," Gail smiled wickedly.

Holly slinked over to the fridge and tossed the leftovers onto the top shelf. Gail was puttering about, taking great care to follow the instructions Celery had written out and taped to the bag, so Holly just hopped onto the counter. She let her head rest back against the cabinets and her legs swing lazily. Holly looked up at the ceiling and let her eyelids drift closed. It had been a long week and a half. Sleeping until Sunday wouldn't be a sin right? She tried to calm the thoughts running through her mind, she tried to focus on the sounds around her. A cupboard closed, probably the one next to the stove. She heard china on marble; Gail placing a mug onto the counter. Some crinkling rustled through the air; probably the bag of tea. The kettle was whistling and Holly could hear the distinct click as Gail shut off the burner and the kettle quieted down immediately. She heard the cap on the kettle flip open and the water pour into the cup, and then a spoon lightly bounce around the ceramic, swimming through the water. Before she knew it she could feel steam rising up to her nose as unfamiliar smell wafted up.

Holly peaked one eye open. Gail was standing in front of her holding the mug up to her face. Gail could be so quiet sometimes it was unnerving. She had a look on her face that Holly couldn't quite place. It was almost a childlike glee, an eight year old that was immensely proud that operation whoopie cushion was a ripping success.

"What does it taste like?" Holly's voice was cautious.

Gail's response was immediate and chipper, "didn't try it," and her smile stretched farther. Her eyes were wide in anticipation, "you're Ms. It's-Not-Going-To-Kill-You-To-Try-Something-New."

Holly let her other eye open but then narrowed them both. She hopped down from the counter with a light poof on the floor. Without a word Holly took the mug from Gail's hands and then wandered off to her bedroom. She took a sip as she passed through the living room. She had no idea what it was but it tasted pretty good. Holly placed the mug onto her nightstand and let herself fall onto the bed. She splayed out spread eagle on her back before reaching blindly for the mug, letting it rest on her stomach. The warmth felt good. God she was tired. The past two weeks at work would have been a killer even without Gail being in the hospital.

"Oh good, I thought you might be vomming in the bathroom." Gail was at the door.

"It's actually not too bad," Holly kept her eyes closed and she spoke slowly and softly. She felt the mattress dip.

"You're on my side," Gail poked Holly in the shoulder, "actually you're on all of the sides."

"My bed, my rules," Holly moved the mug and held it on the comforter next to her.

"Pfff," Gail maneuvered herself to rest her head on Holly's stomach.

They laid in silence for a while before Holly spoke up, "were you ever," she paused and nibbled on her lower lip for a second. She felt Gail's head rock towards her face, "scared, as kid, about your parents?" They had talked a lot about Gail's policing family, but mostly about how it had never really been a question if she was going to enter the academy, and how grating her mother could be. It never really came up what it was like for Gail as a little kid being raised by two police officers.

"Honestly?" Gail's answer came quicker than Holly expected, "not really." Gail was looking up at Holly's chin from the bottom of her ribcage. "I mean, I think by the time I was really old enough to get it, old enough to worry, they were white shirts, and they weren't going out on patrol. My mom made Sergeant before I was born, and Staff Sergeant by the time I was four. My dad wasn't very far behind. They took me to work a couple times and I just spun around in their office chair. It was boring as _hell_," Gail continued looking up at Holly, waiting for her response.

"Oh," Holly sounded a little disappointed, but also like she felt she should have known.

"I think, mostly, when I was worried, it was because Steve was worried and I fed off of that. He was older. Dad was still going on patrol when he was ten or so. He'll deny it though." Gail rolled her eyes, "such a cocky bastard."

Gail's head shook as Holly laughed a genuine, deep bellied laugh.

"There was this one time, our parents had taken us with them to this conference in New Orleans and we were having dinner at a Cajun restaurant. Steve was probably eleven? Anyways whatever he ordered was _super_ spicy. My mom had said 'Steven, I'm not sure you're going to like that, its probably going to be _much _too spicy for you,'" Gail imitated her mother's voice with a hint of distaste. "So our food comes and Steve takes maybe, three bites of his before his cheeks are red, and his eyes are tearing up. Our parents asked him if he wanted something else and he just shook his head back and forth and said, 'it's not that spicy.' Such a moron. I ate all my cornbread first so that he couldn't take any." Gail turned her head again to look up at Holly. It was a story about Steve being an idiot, why hadn't she said anything? Gail pulled her torso up to look down at Holly who was now snoring the softest snores you'd ever heard. "Well that's rude," Gail mumbled before raising the half full mug of tea out of Holly's grip and placing it on the nightstand. Next she slowly guided Holly's glasses off her face and laid them down next to the tea. Gail supposed she was going to have to deal with practically hanging off the edge tonight.

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><p><em>"All the king's horses and all the king's men came charging to get what we got...They offered the crown and they offered the throne; but I already got all that I want..."<br>- Alicia Keys "Not Even the King"_

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><p><strong>AN: SO sorry that it was longer than usual since my last update but it wasn't on purpose :( Thanks for hanging in there guys! Y'all are superstars!  
>Anyway, normally I would have already started (if not finished) the <strong>**next chapter but I haven't yet, and I haven't exactly decided what is going to happen...I'm thinking about throwing Summer in there but I'm not really sure yet...**

**P.S. All of that medical mumbo jumbo came from Wikipedia. I only _wish_ Holly had told me about it. Apologies if it wasn't 100% accurate, and I doubt it was.**


	12. Chapter 12: Throw it All

_"And I'll throw it all away, and watch you fall, into my arms again, and I'll throw it all away"_

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><p>Gail was bored. Like, <em>very<em> bored. Plus, she was hot and sweaty, she could practically feel the moisture beading up on her face. Her sling was usually mildly to moderately itchy but right now it was causing almost severe discomfort. She glanced up at the clock again, it was _only_ five forty five? Gail could have sworn it was five thirty an hour ago. She cursed herself at jumping so quickly at the opportunity to get out and about. She didn't want to admit it, but her brief jaunt around town with Celery yesterday had been exhausting. Maybe it was because her body had taken such a literal hit, maybe it was because she hadn't done much but lay around in bed for a week, but whatever the reason she had slept until noontime.

Gail looked around but didn't really understand what was going on, and honestly she didn't have much motivation to figure it out. When Gail had finally slinked out of bed that morning she found Holly sitting cross-legged on the couch tapping away on her laptop. She had looked up from the screen with a smile, brushing her glasses up onto her forehead, and made a joke about being about to go in to check her pulse. Holly had said something about going to her sister's swim meet later that afternoon and Gail had tried not to sound too eager for a change of scenery. Now she found herself sitting in the _incredibly _ hot _and_ humid spectator section of the pool area. She had _not_ anticipated the wet, hot air; Holly hadn't mentioned that little detail. It reeked of chlorine and Gail was pretty sure she was slightly allergic. Gail _doesn't_ really do sports. The swimmers were completely indistinguishable from on another as they scuttled around the pool deck in their blue and red caps. Eliminating the Black and Asian swimmers was about as close as Gail had gotten to picking out Summer. Hair color wasn't even helpful since they were all wearing swim caps. Sure, maybe the last twenty seconds of some of the races could get exciting, but other than that Gail had little idea of what was going on and little motivation to learn.

Gail leaned over to her left and put her hand on Holly's knee. Goosebumps erupted down Holly's arm as Gail's whispered breath ghosted over her ear. Holly's mouth ran dry at Gail's words and she blinked rapidly to try and compose herself. "You should um, it's the last one," Holly motioned loosely with her pointer finger towards the swimmers climbing up onto blocks, "Summer's in this one." Holly nudged her glasses up, "lane three."

Gail turned her attention back to pool just as the starting beep sounded. She found lane three, and then the swimmer in it. "Um, Holly?" Gail turned to face her, confused.

"Yeah?" Holly kept her eyes on the pool.

Gail lowered her voice, "since when is your sister _black_?"

"What?" Holly didn't avert her gaze.

"Lane three?" Gail didn't understand why the problem wasn't obvious, "that's not your sister."

"Oh," Holly's head swiveled as it followed the swimmers from one end of the pool to the other, "it's a relay; she's last, I think."

"Oh, well you should have told me that before," Gail turned her head back towards the pool just as the second leg started to dive in. If Summer was indeed in lane three, which Gail was still a little skeptical about, her team seemed to be leading by a pretty good margin.

"Sorry, I thought it was obvious," Holly seemed to be under some sort of spell as she watched the swimmers splash the water about and Gail wondered if she would even remember this conversation.

"Only to jocks."

As soon as Summer's hand tapped the wall first Gail's jacket was in her hand, "can we go wait in the lobby now?"

When Holly turned to face her Gail was already climbing the steps towards the exit. She waved at her sister, motioning that they'd be in the lobby.

When Holly found Gail in the lobby she was taking long gulps from the water fountain.

"Does anyone actually come to these things for fun?" Gail grumbled as they waited for Summer. She was billowing her shirt, trying to fan herself.

"By 'these things' do you mean _sporting events_?" Holly checked the time on her watch.

"Sure, same difference," Gail shrugged with one shoulder.

"I had fun," Holly smiled that annoying smile of hers.

"You don't count," Gail dismissed her, "you used to _do_ this, it's different."

"Well, yeah, then the answer is probably no," Holly admitted, "no one really comes to these things unless they know someone."

"Aka why _I _was dragged here," Gail rolled her eyes dramatically. They both knew that wasn't true.

Holly chuckled, "if that's your story."

Gail pouted until Summer finally made her way down the long hallway from the locker room.

"Hey Sis," Summer gave Holly a hug in greeting, "robo cop," she nodded at Gail, "actually, you know, you look _exactly_ like a lego person in that thing."

Gail appraised herself in the reflection of the tall glass doors before conceding, "that's actually _entirely_ accurate," she cocked her head to the side to confirm. "Yeah, ya know, I really do." It was true, her sling did hold her arm at an angle that was almost exactly like the arms of Lego people.

Holly furrowed her brow, unsure if she agreed, "Evan says 'hey'. Apparently he has midterms coming up this week and couldn't come."

"Asshole," Summer threw her bag over her shoulder. "_Kidding_," Summer smiled through the glare Holly was sending her way, "he texted me."

"You guys did pretty great today," Holly gave Summer an affectionate squeeze on her shoulder.

"Meh, it was okay," Summer gathered her still damp hair to put it up in a bun in anticipation of heading outside.

"Well, you won, right?" Gail looked to Holly for confirmation, "I _thought_ that's what the scoreboard said." It had been pretty much the only thing she had _really_ understood.

Summer laugh, "yeah, that's right."

"Well it was only your first meet of the season, you've got time to work out the kinks," Holly offered.

"I guess," Summer shrugged as she zipped up her jacket.

"Come on," Holly placed her hands on Gail and Summer's backs, "I'm starving."

"And buying," Summer added as she let herself be thrust out into the evening chill.

"And driving," Gail smiled gleefully; this sling did have it's perks.

* * *

><p><em>"And I'll throw it all away, and watch you fall, into my arms again, and I'll throw it all away"<em>  
>- <em>Ed Sheeran "This"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: This was super short, kind of a filler, but I didn't want to just skip the entire weekend. The next chapter should be up in a day or two!  
>Bonus points to anyone who spotted Gail and Holly's recycled canon verbal sparring. I don't own it but I totally wish I did.<br>xoxoxo**


	13. Chapter 13: In the City

****A/N: So this was supposed to only be the first half of the next chapter but then it wasn't. Enjoy!****

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><p><em>"From the mountains to the sea, in the city, from the valleys to the moon, in every country, I will be there standing beside you"<em>

* * *

><p>"What do you know about this <em>Erin<em> chick?" Summer burst into Holly's lab, skipping the hellos.

"Well good afternoon to you too," Holly stripped off her gloves after placing a sample in the centrifuge. It was Monday and she had actually been able to completely catch up on her emails over the weekend. Thankfully, she was no longer feeling behind. It was a slow day and she finally caught up on the work she had been neglecting since before Gail's accident.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, _so_ have you met her?" Summer plopped herself on Holly's desk and started unzipping her coat.

"Who?" Holly asked casually as she made a quick note in her notebook. She'd have to enter it into the computer later but she liked working with paper and pen.

"_Erin_," Summer almost hissed dramatically. Why wasn't Holly keeping up?

Holly chuckled, she really had no idea what was going on, "who's Erin?"

"This chick Evander's bringing to Thanksgiving," Summer whipped out her phone to produce evidence. "Did you not read mom's email?

"Uh, when'd she send it?" Holly walked over to her desk and picked up her iPad.

"Little after eleven this morning," Summer guessed. She had read it when she got out of class.

Holly focussed on the screen, opening up her email, trying to find the offending message her sister was so outraged about. "What the what?" Holly's brow quickly furrowed and she began tapping at the screen feverishly.

"I _know_ right?" Summer dropped her hand holding her phone onto her thigh.

"No it's just," Holly's voice drifted off as she continued to battle with the device.

"Just _whattt?_" Summer prompted impatiently.

"This this ebook just started downloading," Holly flashed her sister the screen, "and _I_ didn't buy it. I wasn't even _in_ the iBookstore, or whatever it's called."

"Lemme see that," Summer grabbed the tablet out of Holly's hands. She flipped through a couple windows before declaring, "yeah, you bought it half an hour ago."

"What?! _No_ I didn't!" Holly huffed nervously, "I was preparing a sample a half hour ago."

"_While_ you were online shopping?" Summer smirked, "don't worry, I won't tell your boss."

"Someone's stolen my identity!" Holly raced around the desk to get on her computer, "I'm going to be ruined before dinner." Holly opened up the internet browser to check her credit card and bank statements.

"Relax Hol," Summer rested her hand on the desk and twisted around to face Holly, "I'm pretty sure people don't steal your credit cards or bank accounts to hack into your Apple ID to buy ebooks _for you_."

"You never know," Holly quickly typed out her password, "people are freaks."

"Holly what the hell kind of book _is_ this?" Summer flipped through the virtual pages.

"I didn't even look," Holly answered distractedly as she combed through the recent transactions on her credit card.

"'_I Love A Cop_'? '_What Police Families Need To Know_'? The revised edition? What is this Hol?" Summer wiggled the tablet between Holly and her computer screen.

"What?!" Holly snatched her iPad out of Summer's hands. She hadn't seen any unauthroized charges on her card for the past month which made her a little less panicky. Holly scrolled through the pages even more confused than she was before, "what is this? I didn't buy this."

"Yeah, I think we've established that," Summer plucked a piece of link off her jeans and held it far away before releasing it.

Holly glared at Summer over the rims of her glasses.

"Well don't look at _me_," Summer placed her hand on her chest. "_I_ don't 'love a cop,'" Summer threw up her hands and flourished her comment off with air quotes. "I _do_ happen to know someone who does though," she gave Holly a knowing look.

Holly rolled her eyes, flicking the cover back over the screen and placing it on the desk next to Summer's leg, "I guess I'll get to the bottom of that later." Holly turned back to her computer to check the activity on her bank account just to be sure.

Summer tapped on the covered iPad with two fingers, "but you didn't read mom's email."

"Just give me the bullet points, I'll read it later," Holly was busy logging in.

"_Well_, basically _Evander _is bringing some tootsie named '_Erin' _to Thanksgiving and mom told me to 'be nice.'" Summer helped herself to a big bite of the apple Holly had sitting on her desk, "like, whatever," Summer sassed through a full mouth.

"I was gonna eat that, you know." Holly signed out of her account, no longer worried that her identity had been stolen.

"Relax, I'll trade you for a banana," Summer held the apple in her mouth as she sifted through her backpack.

Holly chuckled, "and why are you calling him by his full name all the sudden?" Summer could be quite entertaining, mostly when she didn't want to be.

"Because," Summer placed the banana on the desk for Holly, "that's what I call him when he's being a prick."

"Well, Gail's coming, does that make _me _a 'prick'?" Holly grabbed the banana and leaned back in her chair; she _had _been itching for a snack.

"That's different," Summer was quick to dismiss Holly's question, "you've been together for like, eternity or whatever. I haven't even met this bitch and she's going to be drinking all my hard cider."

Holly broke off a piece of the banana after peeling it from the bottom, "maybe don't call her a 'bitch' seeing as, like you just said, you haven't met her." Holly popped the fruit into her mouth but forced her last point out through a full mouth, "_also _seeing as I've barely _known_ Gail for a year I think your concept of 'eternity' needs to be revisited."

"Why do you do that? It's so weird," Summer scrunched her nose up in disgust, ignoring Holly's comments.

"That's how monkeys eat them," Holly poked Summer's side with her toe, "to make sure there aren't any _spiders_ inside."

"That's _disgusting_, and you're a _freak_," Summer let her head drop back in dramatic fashion.

"Anyways, you don't even know if she likes hard cider or not so who's to say she'll be drinking 'yours'?" Holly like hard cider too; when did Summer get exclusive drinking rights?

"Whatever," Summer tried changing the subject so she wouldn't have to admit she was wrong, "who has a name like _'Erin_' anyways?"

Holly tried not to laugh, "um, well, _your_ childhood best friend," she popped another piece of banana in her mouth, "plus, she didn't seem that bad to me."

"_You met her?!" _Summer's hand made a thud as her palm landed stiffly onto the desk.

"Well, kinda, I mean for like _maybe_ five minutes," Holly didn't really know why, but she put up a hand in defense. She rambled on, feeling the sudden need to explain herself, "it was an accident! He'd left the car charger for his phone in my car like a _month_ ago so last week I just decided to swing by on my way to work after stopping by the hospital to see Gail." Holly flopped her hand in the air, "she was there, whatever, I was there for two minutes."

"Is she pretty? Is she stupid?" Summer leaned forward, searching for answers.

"_Well_, I couldn't really judge her intelligence by literally saying hello and goodbye," Holly finished off the banana and turned the over to toss it in the trashcan.

"What does she look like?" Summer flexed her toes anxiously.

"Haven't you Googled her already?" Holly stood from her chair, she needed to get back to work if she was going to make it out early.

"Oh my God," Summer buried her face in her hands, "I have _failed_ as a product of the twenty first century."

"What's the big deal anyways?" Holly raised her eyebrows in question, "it's not like she's taking your room or your spot in the Christmas photo."

"Ugh, you wouldn't understand. Whatever, Gramp Ed will be my date. We'll have a blast."

"Well, I _loved_ our little chat," Holly put another pair of gloves on, "but i've gotta get back to work so I can duck out early and pick Gail up after her appointment."

Summer checked the time on her phone, "I've gotta get back for practice anyways, and _now _I'll have plenty to do on the subway."

Holly wagged her eyebrows, "report back," she smirked.

Summer zipped up her coat and the zippers on her backpack, "will you at _least _be mean to her with me?"

"Ah, nope," Holly took her test tube out of the centrifuge, "that's not really my style, you know that."

"Lame," Summer huffed as she threw her bag over her shoulder, "I bet Gail will join in."

Holly ignored Summer's comment, mostly since she was probably right, "hey, next time bring lunch, yeah?"

"Next time have less lame reading material," Summer shot back with a wink.

"Hey," Holly dropped the heels of her hands to the counter, "would you _not _mention that to mom and dad?"

"Explain to me and you've got a deal," Summer raised her eyebrow expectantly.

"Report back," Holly pointed at Summer's phone, "your findings."

"Duh," Summer flopped her arms outright at her sides. As if you should expect anything less form her. "Later," she waved over her shoulder as she pushed the door open and made her exit.

Holly called after her, "have fun!"

'What was _that?' _Holly asked herself. 'Have fun?' Who's lame now?

* * *

><p><em>"From the mountains to the sea, in the city, from the valleys to the moon, in every country, I will be there standing beside you"<em>  
>- <em>Odessa "I Will Be There" (Formerly Odessa Rose "Mountains")<br>_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope y'all aren't getting sick of Summer because she'll be back in a few chapters...  
><strong>**Also! In the last chapter I shamelessly adapted the dialogue from Gail and Holly's meeting in the woods. "You should have told me that before" "Sorry, I thought it was obvious?" "Only to nerds"**_  
><em>

**Guess that nerd is ME**

**P.S. _I Love A Cop _is a real book by Ellen Kirschman Ph.D. (at least that's what Amazon tells me)**


	14. Chapter 14: Secrets Bare All I Mind

**A/N: So, I was kinda struggling with this chapter so I ended up doing a slight perspective change halfway through. It's still third person but the first half is more from Gail's perspective and the second half is more from Holly's. There's no time jump or anything. I hope it works out...**

**ALSO! The website was being really screwy when I uploaded the last two chapters so make sure you aren't missing anything :)**

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><p><em>"Come to me with secrets bare, I'll love you more so don't be scared"<em>

* * *

><p>"Captain physical therapy over there said I might get to take my training wheels off next week," Gail slapped the button for the lobby before flopping her back against the wall of the elevator. The railing dug into her back a little but she didn't move.<p>

"That's good news," Holly ran her fingers through her hair and forced a smile. Gail could tell something was up; Holly was distracted at the very least.

"How was work?" Gail wasn't oblivious to the fact that Holly had been getting behind, taking time off, visiting her at the hospital and then ferrying her from here to there, "if you need to go back that's fine, I can hang out for a while." She definitely wasn't opposed to going back to the lab, it would be a change of scenery at the very least.

Holly looked up, confused, "what? Oh, no," she shook her head from side to side. "It was actually a really slow day, I got a ton done."

"That's good." Well, at least Holly wasn't buried in work, unless she was but wouldn't admit it.

"Hurricane Summer blew through though," Holly couldn't help but laugh and that made Gail smile.

"Oh yeah?" She stepped off the elevator and headed toward the door to the parking lot.

"I actually had to park in the garage," Holly waited for Gail to turn back before nodding towards the other exit.

"Oh," Gail backtracked to where Holly was waiting. "What was up with her?"

"Hell hath no fury like a little sister who's brother is bringing his strange new girlfriend to Thanksgiving," Holly explained.

"Well she's probably gearing up to sulk drunk in the corner while mom and dad parade perfect big brother around the room. It's not very fun," Gail could understand that without much difficulty.

"She's barely twenty," Holly pointed the remote at her car and the lights flashed, alerting them that it had been unlocked, "she needs to chill."

Gail pulled the passenger door open with her left hand then shuffled around it to get in. She picked up two books that were sitting neatly on the seat. Holly never left things around her car, everything was tucked securely in the glove compartment or stowed neatly in the armrest compartment. This was weird. "What are these?" Gail pulled the door closed after dropping the books onto her lap.

"Why don't you tell me," Holly shut her door after placing her bag in the backseat but made no moves to start the car.

What? Gail read the titles out loud, "_Bullets in the Washing Machine_ Melissa Littles?" She pulled the other out from underneath the first, "_Cops Don't Cry: A Book of Help and Hope for Police Families _Vali Stone?" Gail put one on either thigh and looked back and forth between them. Where did these come from? Did Holly buy these? She recognized them form the resource center at Headquarters, and from her own family library. "Did you get these?" She looked up at Holly, her face unreadable.

"Uh, no, I did not," Holly's eyebrows creeped up on her forehead, "did you?"

"Um, did I make them magically appear in your car?" Gail looking confidently skeptical, "that would be a no."

"Well Amazon delivered them to my office today," Holly crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned her shoulder into the back of the seat.

Gail smiled dumbly, "I don't know what to tell you."

Holly wasn't giving up, "_I Love a Cop_: the ebook, now part of my iBook library. Sound familiar?"

She had been caught. Was Holly mad? It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Gail smiled sweetly, "maybe." She would have brought her shoulders up to her ears to complete the look but that wasn't a possibility right now.

Holly maintained eye contact, she wasn't budging.

"Okay, fine," Gail admitted, "that was me. But these," Gail motioned with her hand to the books on her lap, "I-I didn't have anything to do with these. I have _no_ idea where they came from."

Holly turned so her back was flush with the seat and sunk back into it, "so, you hacked my iTunes account and bought me a book?"

"Well," Gail shuffled the books around on her lap, "I didn't _hack_ your account seeing as you leave it open on your computer.

"Okay, so why did you not-hack my account?" Holly almost laughed, almost.

"Because you won't talk to me!" Gail was frustrated, lost, but mostly scared and it all came boiling out. Her voice was loud, anxious, too big for the small car, "I can tell something's wrong, you say you're okay and you're clearly not and I don't know what to do! And I don't want to mess this-us- up," she motioned back and forth between them, "but I _am_!" It had been days of beating around the bush, Holly acting like she didn't have a care in the world and Gail couldn't take it anymore. It had her on edge and she had been fraying ever since, mostly because it scared her. She was afraid things would never be the same, afraid that Holly would decide she needed to walk away, afraid that it was her fault.

* * *

><p><em>"There are things in this life I would rather not sacrifice. You girl I could not live without, and you know there's no doubt that all I mind's, losing you."<em>

* * *

><p>Shit. Holly's heart just about broke. Gail was looking at her frazzled, with big, clear blue eyes, tears threatening to fall. Holly hadn't been thinking about this, that Gail could see right through her. She had been hoping ignorance really was bliss. Apparently, it wasn't. She cupped Gail's cheek with her left hand, leaning on the console with her right elbow. "You're not," she brushed back a few blonde hairs. "You're not messing it up. <em>I<em> am."

"We tell each other stuff right?" Gail cracked a smile for Holly's sake.

"Fine," Holly shook her head and leaned back into her seat. Gail was right; she couldn't ignore it forever. "Fine," Holly took a deep breath and brushed her glasses up, "when I opened that door and saw Oliver standing there my heart stopped. He came to get me from the courthouse. He was waiting in the hallway when I got off the stand." She looked up into the rearview mirror because she couldn't look anywhere else, "I knew something bad had happened." She was blubbering now, it was all coming out too fast, "I don't know how but I knew." Without notice she turned to face Gail and looked her right in the eye, "you are grumpy, sarcastic, moody, bossy, finicky, impatient, you _only_ eat vegetables on pizza or dunked in soy sauce, and you prefer cheese that's been dyed orange." She almost sounded mad, or irritated? "_But,"_ she closed her eyes to steel herself, collect her thoughts, her speech slowed down, "I am totally and completely in love with you because you're witty, and oddly charming." Holly placed a hand on the wrist Gail was resting on the center console, "you're vivacious, the best kind of awkward; secretly compassionate, and brave, you're faithful, and always completely unexpected," she could't help but gush, because it was the truth. "And then there's the fact that you wear a bulletproof vest to work, and you could die. Anyone could die, I could die, my grandmother died." There it was, the cloud that had been following her around. "But if you did I would spend forever becoming gloriously fat eating doughnuts, and cheese puffs; and dunking my vegetables in soy sauce wondering if I'll ever stop missing you. And I-I don't know what to do with that," her voice had gotten high and almost hysterical; the tears that had been perched on the cliffs of her eyelids were spilling out. "And you secretly _love_ your job. I know you do. And I don't think you'd ever admit it but you're really great at it," despite everything Holly cracked a smile and nodded, trying to make sure Gail knew she was right. "So no," Holly suddenly became firm, her hand hovered flat in front of her, "you're not allowed to get shot or hit by a bus or trampled by Godzilla. Okay?" She said it just as if this was something serious that Gail could actually agree to. "It's against the rules." Holly sucked in a breath and smiled "you don't really care about rules though." She pointed at Gail sternly, "but you better care about this one."

Gail nodded obediently as silence fell over the car. "Okay. But back at 'cha."

Holly wiped at her face before running her hands up and down her thighs. She plunged the key into the ignition and turned the key.

"Hey, wait," Gail's hand on her's, turning the key back. The car was off.

Gail was brushing Holly's hair around her ear so she turned to look up at her just as Gail decided to clumsily climb over the center console. "Careful," Holly reached out and placed her hand on Gail's hip as she awkwardly came to straddle Holly's lap.

"I don't think you could get fat if you tried," Gail smiled and swiped her thumb under Holly's eyes.

"Look who's talking," Holly snorted then wiped under her nose.

"I was a fat kid," Gail admitted with an indigent laugh, letting her butt rest on her heels.

Holly didn't believe her, "you were_ not_." She wiped under her nose again.

"_Swear_ to God," Gail crossed her heart, "why do you think my mom only shows off pictures of me from the ages of zero to seven?"

Holly dug a napkin out of the pocket on her door and blew her nose, "sorry," she motioned up and down from her head to her chest, "about this."

"Don't be," Gail said it simply but earnestly. "_I'm _sorry that you have to worry about me." She bit on her bottom lip, "I wish you didn't have to."

"It's not your fault," Holly quickly tried to dismiss Gail's guilt. Other people probably weren't such a mess about this.

"You're right," Gail answered assertively. "Let's be real; it's my mother's fault. We can blame her together." She sounded determined.

Holly scoffed. Like that would really pan out.

"Hey," Gail's voice was harder, more serious.

Holly lifted her face to see that Gail was looking at her intently.

"We should talk about it before you go insane, you know. There's really only room for one crazy in this relationship," Gail tapped on her own chest and mouthed 'me'.

Holly smiled weakly and nodded. Gail leaned back to look at her but as she did the car's horn sounded.

"Oops!" Gail bounced forward and cringed.

"Smooth moves, Peck," Holly laughed until Gail shut her up in the only way that had ever really worked. At first it was forceful but it quickly turned soft and caring; sweet.

"Ever done it parked in a hospital garage?" Gail rested her forehead against Holly's.

"No," Holly peeked to her left after noticing motion, "ever been caught by an only lady with a walker?"

"Ugh," Gail dropped her head to Holly's shoulder, "you might have to drive home like this though."

Holly laughed, "yeah, in how many ways is that illegal, officer?"

"Not as many as you might think." Gail nuzzled her nose into Holly's neck, kissing a freckle, "you know I love you, right?"

Holly smiled, letting her eyes close, "I do," because she did. Holly reached up to give Gail a kiss on the nose before turning to look out the window, "she's gone now," Holly laughed, giving Gail a light pat on her lower back. Holly reached around and popped the door open, "why don't you climb around this way?"

Holly helped Gail tumble out of the car as gracefully and safely as possible.

"Who says chivalry is dead?" Gail grumbled as she rose to her feet.

"You shouldn't," Holly started the car as Gail hopped back in the passenger seat.

"Dinner?" Gail asked with a bright smile as she tossed the books into the backseat.

"It's four thirty," Holly laughed as she started the car on it's spiral down towards the exit.

"Well you can never be too prepared," Gail started fiddling with the satellite radio, quickly navigating away from the BBC.

* * *

><p><em>"Come to me with secrets bare, I'll love you more so don't be scared"<em>  
><em>- The Goo Goo Dolls "Come to Me"<em>

__"There are things in this life I would rather not sacrifice. You girl I could not live without, and you know there's no doubt that all I mind's, losing you."_  
>- John Butler Trio "Losing You"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks to everyone who keeps on reading, and especially to those of you leave reviews! They're endearing!**

**Also, just thought I'd say that (Amazon ****tells me) the two books Gail finds on her seat are real and I used the authors' real names.**


	15. Chapter 15: Seriously

A/N: I know, I know. It's been 84 years I'm horrible :(

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><p>"What are you doing here?" Holly's voice was full of pleasant surprise. A smile bloomed onto her face as she dug in her bag for her car keys.<p>

Gail was laying spread eagle atop the hood of Holly's car. She sat up, letting her legs swing and dangle over the grill of the car. "Getting a tan, _obviously_."

"My mistake," Holly laughed as she unlocked her car and set her bags in the backseat. The first week of October had just passed and it was just after six o'clock, the sun was getting low in the sky. Tans could only really be bought right now. That is, if Gail Peck had the ability to tan. "Is everything okay?" Holly was now mentally running through the possibilities of why Gail would be waiting outside the morgue on the hood of her car.

"Gravy," Gail smiled, "I'm taking you out." She spoke as though it was clear as day.

Holly's face broke into one of her weaving smiles, "you are?"

"Yup," Gail hopped off the car. "I guess by 'taking you out' I mean you're driving there, and driving home-back-wherever we go next, _but_ I'm buying _and_ you get to pick where we eat."

"Wow," Holly's stomach grumbled at the first thought of food; she was starving. "I'm not sure you've ever offered me a deal as sweet."

Gail hopped down from the car and conceded, "that's quite possibly true, so you better not pass it up, Stewart!"

* * *

><p>"I seriously <em>can't<em> believe you made me come back here," Gail hissed over her steaming cup of soup. She looked shiftily around the room.

"You've said that three times already," Holly smiled as she blew at the steam coming up from her spoon.

"Yeah, well, I _still_ can't believe _it_," Gail continued with her hushed tone as she moved her spoon around in the bowl trying to get the liquid to cool down more quickly.

Holly swallowed her mouthful and forced herself not to laugh, "well, it's not my fault you made a fool of yourself in my _favorite _restaurant."

Gail scrunched her nose and glared across the table at Holly.

"They have the _best_ spider rolls in Toronto, and who knows the next time I'd be able to get you back here," it wasn't often that Gail offered complete control over where to eat.

Gail grabbed the last spring roll off the plate in the center of their small table. The food _was_ really _really_ good. She chopped the spring roll open with a knife and started pulling the guts out with her fork. Her mind started to wander and she wasn't sure how long she had been checked out when Holly's hand began flashing in front of her eyes.

"Earth to Gail," Holly chuckled, "you okay?"

Gail blinked away the day dreams and put her fork down on the plate, "do you," she paused and worried on her bottom lip, "do you want..."

Holly raised her eyebrows and set her spoon down in anticipation of whatever Gail was about to ask.

"Dumplings?" Gail spat it out quickly, "do you want dumplings? Because I do, and if you want any we better put in two orders."

Holly's mouth opened slightly as a curious smile tugged across her face, "sure," she answered slyly.

Gail changed the subject quickly, "do you know how embarrassing it is to have to use a fork?" She picked up the offending object, dangling it over her plate, and gave it a look dripping it with digust.

"Okay, truth time?" Holly placed her forearms along the edge of the table.

Gail looked around dubiously for a moment before leaning in, "okay?"

"We never really had Chinese food growing up, dad said there was too much salt, it was bad for you, whatever. And Evan was like _afraid_ of sushi, like _terrified_ of it," Holly let herself laugh for a moment, "so we never ate it. Anyways, somehow I dodged learning how to use chopsticks up until University. My first year roommate, Julie, I think I've mentioned her? Anyways, her family was from Montreal and her dad took us out to lunch when he picked her up for Christmas break. Julie was obsessed with this sushi place a couple blocks away. Anyways I had no idea how to use chopsticks and I was too embarrassed to ask for a fork."

"So chopsticks are your kryptonite?" Gail grabbed a piece of spring roll with her fingers and popped it into her mouth.

"Story's not over," Holly scolded. "Anyways, so, in a moment of brilliance, I just didn't break the chopsticks apart at the top. I just pulled the ends apart and they'd just spring back and hold onto whatever," Holly laughed at her ingenuity.

"_Wow_," Gail shook her head in disbelief. "If you _ever_ did that with me I'd walk out, I hope you know that."

Holly laughed, "yeah, that's basically what Julie said."

"Such a _loser_," Gail shook her head with a smile.

"Well, I learned," Holly shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, I bet you practiced at home with pencils and stacks of post-it notes," Gail took a sip of her water but eyed Holly over the rim of the glass. "Oh my god, you actually did!"

Holly's blush turned deep red and she brought her napkin up to brush away some nonexistent food from the corner of her mouth. "Shut up."

"That is possibly the most adorkable thing I've ever heard."

"Well I didn't have anything to study over the break so..."

Gail leaned back in her seat, "I just need a minute to," she waved her hand in front of her, "take this all in."

"Fair enough," Holly laughed as she took the opportunity to reach across and steal half of the spring roll off Gail's plate.

Gail's eyes went wide, "_wow_, good luck getting any dumplings."

Holly shrugged and smiled.

"Oh, that reminds me," Gail sounded less than enthused, "my mom sent me the menu for Thanksgiving for your approval."

"What?" A laugh escaped Holly's throat.

"I mean, it was mostly for Leo I think, but my mom doesn't actually cook anything herself really, so she can't really make any last minutes alterations," Gail snorted.

"Wait, you-we're still going?" Holly's brow knitted in confusion.

"Yeah?" Gail nodded, not understanding what Holly would think they weren't.

"I mean with the accident and everything," Holly motioned to Gail's sling.

Gail rolled her eyes, "Steve got the chickenpox in kindergarden and promptly gave them to me. We _still_ went to the cabin for Thanksgiving."

Holly's face quickly showed surprise and concern.

"I mean, it's not like we're _camping_." Gail scoffed, "that is _so_ not my mom's style. I mean, it's _kind_ of a cottage, but it's basically just a house in the woods."

"What does that mean?"

"It's not like we're roughing it, especially now that my grandparents don't come up anymore my mom's been able to wave her magic wand all over the place." Elaine had been eyeing the cottage since her wedding and over the past five years or so she had made her mark on the space. It was never particularly rustic but now it was as essentially as modern in function as Gail's parent's house. "There's wifi," Gail laughed.

"Well then I guess I better get a look at this menu," Holly teased.

"Oh! Steve and Traci are picking Leo up after school on Friday and driving up then so you have to work Friday afternoon."

Holly cocked her head to the side,"I already asked for Friday afternoon off, traffic's going to be horrible."

Gail spoke more sternly and made hard eye contact with Holly, "_you have _to work Friday afternoon."

"Okayyy," Holly agreed with a suspicious smirk "but seriously, we're not leaving after four o'clock. It'd take us three hours just to leave the city."

"Fine.," Gail shrugged, "I think Leo had a half day, but I know my limit and forty-eight hours is pushing it. Plus, it _is_ Thanksgiving; I want everyone to leave alive." Gail immediately started to dread the two days they'd be spending trapped at the cottage with her parents. No doubt her mom would be after her every chance she got about applying for a promotion. She couldn't even pretend to want to go for a run to escape with her shoulder being in a sling. _Curses_. It was possible that at this moment Gail was most thankful her brother was dating Traci, and that she and Leo would be joining him this weekend. Her mother would certainly be on her best behavior around him, if not Holly and Traci. Gail decided to stick close to the little guy. Maybe she'd even stay with him in the bunk bed room.

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><p>AN: So that was longest this story has gone without an update by _far_ and I'm sorry! Total writers block on that one but the next ones should be coming quicker! As always, y'all are delightful :)


	16. Chapter 16: My Imagination

A/N: Me again. First taste of the Peck Family Thanksgiving...

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><p>"<em>T<em>_he night sky once ruled my imagination. N__ow I turn the dials with careful calculation. A__fter a while, I thought I'd never find you. I__ convinced myself that I would never find you, __when suddenly I saw you. A__t first I thought you were a constellation. I__ made a map of your stars, then I had a revelation: __you're as beautiful as endless, __you're the universe I'm helpless in. A__n astronomer at my best __when I throw away the measurements. L__ike a telescope, I__ will pull you so close __'til no space lies in between. A__nd suddenly I see you. S__uddenly I see you. I__ was a billion little pieces __'til you pulled me into focus. A__stronomy in reverse, __it was me who was discovered."_

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><p>"You know, Leo, I bet we could get the fire pit outside going," Elaine squatted down a little, bracing her arms low on her thighs. Leo was twelve but by Elaine's demeanor you'd guess he was five, "and we have marshmallows, and chocolate, and graham crackers." Gail was pretty sure that if her mom smiled any wider that her face would split in two. It was Friday night, their first night at the cottage and Elaine was playing her hand carefully. Gail wondered if she was waiting until tomorrow to offer hot chocolate.<p>

"Cool! S'mores!" Leo jumped up from his seat and headed toward the door to the deck. Traci laughed and followed him out.

"Nice, mom," Steve chuckled before following Traci, knowing it was going to be up to him or his dad to get the fire going. Elaine didn't deal with that sort of thing.

"Go help Steve with the fire pit," Elaine gave her husband a pat on the shoulder on her way to the kitchen, "I'll grab the treats."

"Aye aye," Bill gave a jovial salute on his way out the door.

Holly couldn't help but chuckle as she rose to her feet, "Elaine, can I help you with anything?"

"All set," Elaine smiled widely as she floated out of the kitchen towards the sliding doors carrying the fixings for s'mores.

Holly looked down at Gai, who hadn't shown any signs of getting off the couch, "you coming?"

"You _are_?" Gail looked up at Holly like she had just proposed they try a vegan diet.

"Come on," Holly swatted lightly at Gail's feet which were propped up on the coffee table, "there's chocolate and marshmallows, I really don't understand why you weren't the first out the door."

Holly was right, Gail really did love s'mores, "_fine_," Gail groaned as she heaved herself dramatically off the couch. Holly practically skipped out the door, but Gail was more than a few paces behind. She yanked the blanket off the back of the couch and clumsily threw it around her slinged shoulder and over her back. Gail slid the door open slowly and stepped over the threshold almost as if she didn't know what she was walking into. Steve and her dad were feeding the fire some more kindling, coaxing the larger logs to catch. Holly and Traci were leaning up against the railing, casually watching the show and chatting away. Elaine was supervising, and obviously on edge about her husband and son's ability to complete their task efficiently and safely.

"I'm telling you we should install a gas fire," Elaine shook her head as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nonsense," Bill was partial to a real fire. He poked the kindling gently, trying to position it as best as possible. He looked almost comical with his tall frame hunched down so low.

"You can't roast marshmallows on a _gas_ 'fire', mom," Steve rose to his feet smiling.

Gail walked straight past them and sat down in one of the chairs close to the fire; it was warmest over there. Leo had already opened a bag of marshmallows and had one stuffed in his mouth. Gail looked him in the eyes and gave him a head nod before holding her left hand up and hinged it open and closed. Leo smiled and tossed a marshmallow her way. Gail let it fall into her lap before she picked it up and shot Leo a wink. She brought the marshmallow up to her mouth and bit a chunk off, all the while eyeing her mother. Elaine, resigned to the boys' hardheadedness, turned away to the grill, opening the built in cabinet below to pull out the marshmallow sticks. She walked over, handing one to Gail with a smile.

"William Sonoma?" Gail asked, turning the handle in her hand. There was a wooden handle with a ring on the end for hanging, and the metal shaft telescoped out like an old television antenna. There were two prongs at the end that were perfect for skewering marshmallows.

"Crate and Barrel, dear," Elaine smiled down at Gail before turning and walking around the fire to bring one to Leo.

Gail grasped the handle between her knees and pulled the skewer out to it's full length before motioning for Leo to toss her two more. She heard footsteps on the wood deck and when she felt a hand on her left shoulder she knew it was Holly. "One of those for me?" Holly asked as she sat down on the armrest of Gail's Adirondack chair.

"You wish," a laugh escaped Gail's throat.

Holly's hands slapped down to her thighs before she got up to fetch her own skewer and marshmallow, "good, I don't want your blackened flakey marshmallow anyways."

Gail gasped, "what is _that_ supposed to mean?" She shot Leo a look as he chuckled.

Holly turned the skewer around in her hand before stretching it out it's full length; she shrugged. "I just bet you're the 'catch em on fire, let 'em burn, blow 'em out' kind of marshmallow-er," she pushed two marshmallows onto the skewer before approaching the fire again, "that's not really my style."

Gail's neck slid back, "not really your style?" She mocked.

Holly smiled slyly and she settled her marshmallows a little ways away from the coals, "I have the patience you lack to _roast_ a _real_ marshmallow."

Gail raised her eyebrows and her eyes floated to the top of their sockets in indigence, "well, pardon me, Ms. Martha Stewart," she mocked.

Holly's smile widened, "that's my aunt's name, and she goes by 'misses'," her face turned back towards the fire. Her tan skin glowed in the light as shadows danced across her face and Gail couldn't think of a deserving comeback.

Gail huffed and broke apart two graham crackers and set pieces of chocolate on each of the four squares. She shoved the end of her skewer into the flames and waited for the marshmallows to catch on all sides before pulling them out of the fire. She watched them burn and waited until they started to slip down the metal to blow them out.

"Mmmmmmmm," Gail bit into her first s'more with a show, "just the way I like it," she proclaimed through a full mouth.

Holly smiled and shook her head while Leo let out a laugh. Steve slinked over and stole Gail's second s'more while she took another bite from the first. Her eyes went wide when she saw what Steve had done. She forced the rest into her mouth so her hand would be free to give a swift punch to Steve's shoulder. "Make your own!"

"Ow!" Steve laughed as he rubbed at his injury. "My compliments to the chef, double chocolate" he flashed his best smile and a thumbs up before returning to Traci and his parents.

"Ass," Gail grumbled after him.

"_Gail_," Holly scolded, aware that there were young ears around.

"He's heard worse," Gail quickly dismissed Holly's concern before grabbing another marshmallow from the bag.

"It's true," Leo confirmed with a nod of his head.

Nevertheless, Holly turned back to Gail and shot her a look before pulling her marshmallows out for an inspection; perfect golden brown. She turned and sandwiched them between the chocolate and graham crackers. "Well, as much as I've enjoyed my time here, must get back to the kids table," Holly winked and made her way back to Traci.

"Did she just call your parents kids?" Leo asked, confusion etched across his face.

Gail shook her head, "no, she called _me_ a kid."

After he had roasted, and eaten his fill, Leo made two s'mores and brought one over to his mom and the other to Mrs. Peck.

"Oh, thank you so much dear," Elaine smiled brightly, clearly flattered, "but I don't eat dessert." She nodded her head towards her husband, "but I'm sure it won't go to waste."

Leo handed it over eagerly.

"Well, just a bite," Elaine caved and Bill handed it over.

"Twenty minutes, bud, and then it's time to get ready for bed," Traci chimed in.

Leo looked up at his mom and pouted, "it's vacation, mom," his eyes sparkled as he tried to charm her.

"And it's already past your bedtime," Traci laughed as she rustled his hair.

Leo huffed as he turned away and rolled his head to the sky. The sun had long since set and the stars were out in full force. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. "Woah!" Leo's eyes widened when he looked up at the sky. The stars were all shining incredibly bright, white diamonds piercing the sky. It had been a while since he saw a sky like this one.

The adults all followed his lead, glancing up to the sky.

"There's a lot less light pollution out here than in the city," Holly remarked.

"Sure is," Bill lamented.

"Where's the big dipper?" Leo asked curiously.

"Uh," Traci almost laughed; she had no clue.

"Well, if you find the little dipper, and Polaris, it's just to the right," Holly piped up, searching the sky.

"Polaris?" Leo questioned.

"The North Star," Holly explained, "it's closest to earth's magnetic pole to it always points north."

"Oh yeah," Leo remembered reading something like that in a book.

"There," Holly pointed to an extra bright star, "follow that to the right," she dragged her finger across the sky, "and there's the big dipper."

"Cool," Leo concluded as he gazed up at the sky.

"I think Leo might be around there too," Holly squinted trying to make out the lion. She had pretty much maxed out her stargazing knowledge.

"Leo?" Leo was intrigued that something up in the sky had the same name he did.

"'Leo the Lion'," Holly smiled, "a constellation. Lots of ancient civilizations who didn't have any contact with each other all named the same clusters of stars after the same animals," she explained. "I think it's below..." she searched the sky, trying to find it.

"It's to the _right_," Gail correct, clearly unimpressed. She rose from her chair and sloughed over to point it out, readjusting the blanket around her as she made her way across the deck.

Traci and Holly looked at each other with curious looks. Gail Peck the astronomer?

Gail ignored, or didn't notice, them. "Follow the pointer stars right," Gail traced her left pointer finger across the sky, "there's Regulus," she pointed to the brightest star in the group. Holly looked on; she was already out of her depth.

Gail continued, "and Algieba," she pointed to the next brightest star and then traced the outline of the lion's neck and mane and then around to his back and hindquarters. Leo was captivated; his very own constellation of stars.

"Bill," Elaine swatted his shoulder playfully, "why don't you go see if you can find Gail's telescope."

Gail rolled her eyes; _great_.

"Good idea," he broke out into a grin and made his way to the sliding door. "Attic?" He called back, unsure of where it was.

"Basement," Elaine corrected, making her way towards to the door to make sure he actually found it.

"Gail was quite the stargazer," Steve rocked back on his heels with a wicked grin.

"Is that _so_?" Traci was eager for more information. Holly let her mouth open a little out of curiously and looked at Steve, hoping for more information.

"_Shut_. _Up._" Gail instructed through gritted teeth.

"What?" Steve put his hands up in defense. "You used to spend _hours_ out here as a kid."

Gail punched him in the shoulder.

"What was _that_ for?" Steve demanded. He was undeterred though and turned his attention back to Traci and Holly, "Santa brought her a telescope for Christmas when she was nine."

Gail narrowed her eyes at him but Steve continued on.

"_Best. Christmas. Ever."_ Steve raked his hand in an arc above his head to dramatize the statement.

Gail gave in, "you were always jealous that you were too dumb to enjoy such a sophisticated activity."

A few minutes later Elaine and Bill emerged once again with the telescope in question. It wasn't very large, but Holly imagined that to a nine year old it was probably awe inspiring. It was a shiny red and it sat atop a black tripod.

"It was always a fight to get her to come back inside even after her lips turned blue and her teeth started to chatter," Elaine commented as Bill fiddled with the legs on the telescope.

Gail hoped that no one could see her deep red blush in the dark. So she liked to look at the stars? Big _deal_.

They spent the next half hour drawing locations of other constellations out of Gail as Leo's eye remained glued to the telescope eyepiece. Eventually Gail gave in and just put up a fight for show.

Traci peeked at her watched. She had told Leo twenty more minutes over forty minutes ago. "Leo, honey, time for bed," she pointed backwards toward the door to the living room.

"But I'm learning," he smiled hopefully.

"That's great, and you can learn more tomorrow," Traci smiled, not going to give in, "but it's time for bed now."

"The twin sheets are in the dryer," Elaine remembered, "I'll get you all set up," Elaine made her way to the door.

"Oh, really, I can handle it," Traci insisted.

"Nonsense," Elaine brushed her off quickly, "you're a guest, and Steven doesn't have a hosting bone in his body."

Gail snorted as Steve's head popped up.

"Bill, go make sure the storm windows are all down in the bedrooms, and grab the quilts out of the hall closet," Elaine continued on with her instructions. They hadn't been up to the cottage since the warm summer months.

"I'll help you dad," Steve made his way to the door after his father and mother.

"Say goodnight," Traci pushed at Leo's shoulder's gently, trying to herd him inside and upstairs.

"Goodnight Gail, night Holly," Leo waved as he made his way to the door.

"Night," they both called back.

He looked back with one foot over the threshold, "thanks for looking at the stars with me," Leo's face broke out into a huge grin and Traci gentled nudged him through the door.

"Of course," they called after him, "anytime."

"See you guys in a bit," Traci laughed as she closed the door behind her.

Holly turned to face Gail; she was cornered. "I didn't know you were a stargazer," Holly smiled with this newfound knowledge. "So who's the nerd now?"

Gail shrugged, "gave me an excuse to stay out here, _away_ from everyone else."

Holly's mouth opened slightly as she pondered what to say, "if that's your story," she eyed Gail suspiciously.

"I'm sticking to it," Gail confirmed.

Holly continued on, "which one's your favorite?" She was resolute.

"Favorite what?" Gail pretended not to know what Holly was talking about.

"Favorite _star_." Holly knew Gail was just playing dumb.

Gail stared back blankly.

"I won't tell," Holly jostled Gail's hip slightly with a smile. "Pleaseee," she whined.

"I can't just pick a favorite," Gail bit at her bottom lip as her eyes darted around the sky.

"Okay, so _one_ of your favorites."

"Fine," Gail conceded. "The sun."

"Curveball," Holly smiled, "do tell, do tell."

"It's just a star, like all the rest, but no one sees that." Gail looked up at the sky, "people forget it's a star, and that stars are suns." Gail got lost in the night sky, "it's the only star we can never see with the others. Almost like an outcast, but also a show stopper? It silences the rest. Forever alone, for better or worse." Gail fell silent and just stared up at the sky. Holly didn't have any words so she gazed over at Gail's face, silvery pale in the moon light.

A few moments passed and Gail's left hand found the hem of Holly's shirt. She looked down and started playfully flopping the fabric around where it lay together under the bottom button. "You okay?"

"Me?" Holly asked lightly. "I'm having a blast," she pulled the blanket closer up to Gail's neck and around her front. "How are you?" She asked as she ran her hands over the blanket, down Gail's arms and up again so they could run down Gail's chest.

"I wish I was drunk," Gail sighed dramatically, "but I'm fine."

"Having a hangover would probably make tomorrow a lot less fun," Holly laughed.

"You have no idea," Gail rocked her head back and then whispered, "_my mom's voice_." Gail's eyes fell back to the hem of Holly's shirt and her fingers resumed flicking and rubbing the fabric.

"I read your books," Holly offered nervously.

Gail's eyes shot up to Holly's face, "you did?" Gail's mind was full of disbelief and surprise.

Holly drew her lips into her mouth and nodded.

"_When?_" Gail narrowed her eyes. It had only been a few days. Gail knew Holly was a fast reader but _jeez_.

"I'll never give away my secrets."

"I told you, I only got the one. I don't know where the other two came from," Gail looked Holly in the eye; she was as confused as Holly was.

"You don't know _where_ they came from," Holly paused and looked up to the sky, "or you didn't order them?" She looked back to Gail with a smile.

Gail rolled her eyes, she wasn't trying to be fresh. "I did not order them, nor do I know who did. I also do not know where they came from." Gail raised her left hand, "scout's honor."

"Scout's honor is with your right hand," Holly corrected.

Gail let her hand fall back down to her side, "well you're out of luck then."

"Guess I'll just have to take your word for it," Holly pretended to sound skeptical.

"Guess you will," Gail shrugged.

"Good thing I trust you."

"I guess it is," Gail looked in Holly's eyes and they warmed her everywhere. They were a gentle, swimming brown, deep and soulful. "Do you," Gail eyes darted around, the fire to the trees, the trees to Holly's shoulder, Holly's shoulder to her eyes. "Do you," Gail bit down on her bottom lip, "do you want..." Gail realized Holly's smile was cracking open with each passing second, she snapped her eye's back up to Holly's, "do you want to go inside? I'm cold." Gail grabbed Holly's fingers and turned toward the door so Holly couldn't see her mouth '_fucking moron, Gail_.'

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><p>"<em>T<em>_he night sky once ruled my imagination. N__ow I turn the dials with careful calculation. A__fter a while, I thought I'd never find you. I__ convinced myself that I would never find you, __when suddenly I saw you. A__t first I thought you were a constellation. I__ made a map of your stars, then I had a revelation: __you're as beautiful as endless, __you're the universe I'm helpless in. A__n astronomer at my best __when I throw away the measurements. L__ike a telescope, I__ will pull you so close __'til no space lies in between. A__nd suddenly I see you. S__uddenly I see you. I__ was a billion little pieces __'til you pulled me into focus. A__stronomy in reverse, __it was me who was discovered."_  
>- <em>Sleeping at Last "Venus"<em>

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><p>AN: Disclaimer! I'm not an astronomer, like at _all_. Thanks to the internet I didn't make all that stuff up though. But it's probably not 100% truth. Forgive me please. Thanks for hanging in there guys! As always, reviews are more than welcome! I hope you're all doing fabulously because you're all fabulous.


	17. Chapter 17: Lazy Bones

**A/N: A shorty but I hope you enjoy. A little more Pecksgiving for you.**

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><p>Holly tiptoed into the room before grasping the doorknob with both hands behind her back and pushing the door closed. She eyed Gail, asleep, as she quietly made her way around Gail's haphazardly discarded sweater and jeans toward the window. The sun glowed through the shades, bleeding out at the edges. Morning was trying to make it's way in. The room wasn't dark, but the window shades kept the harshness of the morning light at bay. No more. Holly swiftly, but quietly, retreated the shade up and away. The room caught fire. The metal prongs on the lampshade threw sparks and the mirror resting on the bureau caught the light and threw it back up to the ceiling. Holly toed across the hardwood, a novice to the whereabouts of the creaky boards. She crawled up onto the duvet. The cover was light blue, thick, woven cotton; it wasn't overly soft, but almost in a comforting way. It had been drastically rearranged since her departure an hour or so ago. A third of it's width now dangled down to the floor as the rest was tangled and scrunched around Gail's, now still, body. Holly blew some loose hairs away from Gail's forehead before depositing a kiss just above her brow, then one on the tip of her nose, and finally, one on her lips.<p>

"Wake upppp," Holly's voice was quiet but sing songy; full of morning cheer.

"No." Gail's words were finite, resolute, and sharp, even as her eyes remained closed. She had been awake the whole time.

Holly was surprised by this turn of events but wasn't thrown. She rested her weight on her knees, and left palm, which was resting above Gail's left shoulder, and raised her right hand off the mattress. She was about to slip it under the covers when suddenly Gail had her wrist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Gail still had yet to open her eyes. She wasn't taunting or flirting; she was serious.

"My working limbs outnumber yours right now, Peck," Holly wasn't going down without a fight.

"Which is exactly why you wouldn't _dare_," Gail held her grip on Holly's wrist firmly.

Holly leaned back onto her heels and pouted; not that Gail could see. "Oh come _on_," she whined. The comforter poofed as Holly let her free hand drop down onto Gail's covered stomach. "It's breakfast time, and they sent me to get you."

This wasn't news to Gail. She resisted the urge to open her eyes and look at Holly. "Steve must be relieved," usually it was Steve's job to come and fetch Gail out of bed, and _usually_ Gail resisted long enough for him to retreat, admitting defeat. Sometimes, however, this plan backfired and her mother would swiftly climb the stairs and yank the covers off the bed.

"Can't you smell the bacon?" Holly was sure that would have made the task a breeze, no pun intended. It was never this difficult to get Gail up at home. Actually, Holly never had to _get_ Gail up.

"I can, _and_ I don't care." Gail loosened her grip on Holly's wrist, a test to see if she would try again.

Holly leaned forward to touch the back of her free hand to Gail's forehead, "are you okay?" She was almost concerned.

"I'm hiding," Gail laughed.

Holly poked Gail's forehead. "Come on, they sent me to get you. How's it gonna look if I can't get you out of bed?"

A smile crept across Gail's face.

"Actually, don't answer that," Holly was quick to add.

"Whining doesn't really suit you, Hols," Gail tried to not let it show how much fun she was having.

Holly freed her wrist from Gail's grasp and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. What was the use? Gail couldn't see her with her eyes still closed.

"Stop pouting, it's not cute," Gail resisted the urge to laugh through her closed eyes. That was such a lie, Holly was always cute.

Holly huffed, and scurried off the bed before rounding the footboard.

"How was your run with Traci?" Gail asked coyly.

Holly didn't answer. The bed frame was rustic wood, made from shaved down logs. It was obviously an expensive sort of authentically fake craftsmanship; trying to look elegantly rustic and simple but really, probably quite expensive. Holly reached over and grasped the comforter with both hands.

Gail sensed the movement. "You wouldn't _dare_," she warned.

"Oh, I _would_."

Gail cracked one eye open to stare Holly down.

"Come _on_," Holly gave it one last go, "Traci and Steve and Leo are down there; there's coffee, bacon, banana muffins, and your dad's making pancakes."

Gail sprung up before swinging her legs over the bed and grabbing at the throw blanket that had fallen to the ground. "You should have led with the pancakes," Gail explained quickly as she tossed the blanket around her shoulders. Then she was out the door. Holly followed, completely unsure of what had just happened.

"That was fast," Steve remarked as Gail skidded past him towards the pot of coffee.

Holly shrugged as he looked to her for an answer.

Gail turned her back to the counter, facing the crowed glommed around the center island breakfast bar. "_Where _are the pancakes?" She looked from face to face accusingly.

Her dad turned, holding a mixing bowl in his left hand. He raised an eyebrow as he brought his right fist to hover over the bowl. He unclenched his fist and a pile of chocolate chips tumbled into the batter.

Gail smiled over her coffee mug and cooed, "I love you daddy," before taking another sip of coffee.

Traci chuckled in amusement, her mouth gaped open slightly, "that was unnerving."

"You're tellin' me," Holly raised an eyebrow and reached for her mug of coffee.

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><p><strong>AN: I was originally going to make this just the first part of the next chapter but I thought, 'why not?' and gave it a little independence.**

**Be well,  
>xoxo<strong>


	18. Chapter 18: Lay the Table

_"And I'll build a fire, you fetch the water and I'll lay the table, and in our hearts, we still pray for sons and daughters, and all those evenings out in the garden, red red wine, these quiet hours turning to years"_

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><p>"Gail, sweetheart, how's Alison?" Elaine smiled as she took a bite of string beans.<p>

"_Who_?" Gail didn't even bother to finish chewing the hunk of dinner roll in her mouth. She was completely thrown by the question, having not a clue who her mom was talking about. Steve and Traci made eye contact, wondering if the other had a clue who Elaine was talking about. Was it someone from work they should know? Holly continued cutting through her venison, but her eyes freed themselves from her plate and slid from Elaine over to Gail.

Elaine quirked her head as she swallowed, "your physical therapist, dear," her tone suggested it was the most obvious thing in the world, how silly of Gail to forget. She reached for her water glass, eyeing Gail over the rim as she did.

"Fine? I think? We don't really talk much about how she's _doing_, seeing as I've known her for," Gail contorted her face as she did the mental calculations, "ten days?" It was becoming clearer to Gail though why her mother had opened with that question. It was part of Elaine's public persona; everyone's a friend. Hunter, who did her mother's hair; Michelle, who cleaned for them; Lucille at the dry cleaners, Paul who was in charge of the lawn; Rich, their accountant; Ana the trainer; and apparently, now, Alison, Gail's physical therapist. Elaine talked to them, and about them, as if they were friends but never met them socially. Gail always thought it was fake, a keeping up of appearances that was insulting to all involved. But, her mother did remember things that were important to them, like when Michelle's sister got married and Michelle went on about the wedding for months, or when Paul's son won the high school spelling bee. She remembered and acted like she was interested, like she cared, and maybe she was, maybe she really did care. Maybe it was just another example of her mother being better with people, more outgoing, more friendly, more comfortable juggling more social balls than Gail ever was. The jury was still out. It was a fact though that over the four appointments Gail had so far with Alison, that Elaine would already know much of the woman's life story, and would remember the names of everyone in her immediate family.

"So, what's the word?" Elaine asked with raised eyebrows. She really wasn't expecting much from Gail on the first question, Elaine _had_ met her own daughter after all.

"Which word?" Gail was doing her best to prevent this conversation from happening. Her mom had been down right pleasant and, for the most part, enjoyable since she and Holly arrived the previous evening, and Gail had been wondering how long it would last.

"On your shoulder," Elaine's elbows flared as she started on the task of cutting her meat, making it clear Gail's need for clarification was silly.

"Um, good, I guess," Gail flicked some beans around her plate with her fork. "She said I might be able to ditch the training wheels at the end of the week." She hoped that would satisfy her mom's thirst for information. It was slightly vague, not very committal, but it was the truth, and it was pretty good news. Hopefully her mom would accept it and move on.

"Oh?" Elaine visibly perked at the news, her knife halted to a stop. "Early, isn't it?" Elaine's eyes had now found their way to Holly, drawing her into the arena of dinner conversation.

"Oh," Holly shook her head bashfully while she swallowed what was in her mouth, "that's not really my area of expertise," she glanced at Gail before addressing the table more in general, "rehabilitation is pretty much the opposite of my work." This earned a chuckle all around, and more of a snort from Leo.

Elaine smiled tightly, "no need to be so modest, dear, you're the only one at the table with a medical degree." She obviously wanted Holly's opinion anyways.

Holly glanced in Gail's direction, trying to gauge how she should handle the situation, but Gail's eyes were unmeetable as they continued to roll in reaction to her mother. So, Holly continued on unadvised, "I mean it probably is on the early side, but recovery from injuries like this are highly individualized; it's not that surprising. I think it's a good thing," Holly concluded before taking a bite of meat; she chewed slowly.

"Well, that's good news," Elaine declared with a lift and sip from her glass, "back to work soon then."

Gail offered her mother a tight lipped smile when prompted, hoping this line of questioning would be over.

"So, Dad," Steve took the reins when given the opportunity to change the subject, "guess what I found in the closet of the bunk room," he smirked with anticipation.

"My vintage binoculars!" Bill punched the air with his finger, hopeful that they had been found.

"No," Steve laughed as his smile grew bigger, their mom had probably throw out those old beaten up binoculars years ago. "A box of old home videos." Steve took the opportunity to flash his eyes in Gail's direction and shot her a wink.

Bill put down his fork, leaned in and pointed at Steve, "you know I've been been _looking_ for that box."

"It was on the top shelf of the closet," Steve smiled before sliding another forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"You don't suppose it has that one of us fishing in the canoe," Bill patted at the table jovially. Apparently he couldn't so much as think about this particular video without a laugh escaping.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure it does," Steve turned his head to look back across the table at Gail who was already waiting with her best death glare. "We can watch after dessert," he suggested with a good amount of perk.

"No," Gail said it slowly and clearly, definitively. She had stopped eating and clutched her wine glass firmly, even though it was resting on the table.

"The one with the fish?" Elaine sounded slightly out of the loop, clearly not having as queued up a memory of the video in question.

"That's the one," Steve's smirk only grew in size. He didn't take his eyes off Gail, how could he? This was too much fun.

"Oh, that one's not flattering," Elaine flapped her hand in attempt to squash the discussion even though she knew it was futile.

Gail took a slow and methodically long sip from her glass.

"I want to see this video," Traci was even more intrigued by Gail's obvious protest.

"Me too," Holly and Traci nodded at each other across the table, wide eyed.

Gail knew there was no way she was getting out of this now, and decided another glass of wine was in order. She had to hand it to Steve, he pulled her out of the fire, while offering up a flashy shiny alternative to his mother's line of questioning. If you take away a dog's bone you better offer something else up, and Steve did just that. Of course, once again, Gail was guaranteed to find this activity slightly less than enjoyable, and Steve knew it. And she had to hand it to him, he walked that line between swooping in and saving her, while simultaneous punishing her for it perfectly, just as any big brother strives to do. He saved her from the wolves, that was for sure, but then he threw her up on stage, and made her dance. Well, seven year old Gail will have to dance.

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><p>"I'm not kidding though," Gail turned in her seat to look at Holly to make sure she was <em>really<em> listening, "if you tell _anyone_ about that video I'll hide each and every pair of your glasses."

Holly laughed as she looked out the windshield. Not only was Gail's distress completely endearing, but just thinking about the video made her laugh. It had been over eighteen hours since Steve first popped the tape into the VCR and Holly still wasn't over it. It was an old home movie, from around the time Gail was six or seven. The Pecks out fishing on the lake, all piled into a canoe, on what appeared to be a perfect summer day. The sun was shining, the birds seemed to be chirping. The film was in black and white but you could tell Gail and Steve's outfits were comprised of some of the brightest colors in the rainbow.

"I'm _serious,_ Holly," Gail grabbed Holly's arm that was resting on the center console, "you'll be blind for days."

"Don't worry," Holly returned her right hand to the wheel, needing a better grip to compensate for her laughter, "I've got it committed to memory, no corrective lenses necessary." Holly could summon the images into her mind on command. Little Gail and little Steve crouched next to each other in the center of the canoe, each hanging on tight to their respective fishing rods.

"Not. Nice." Gail would have slapped Holly's shoulder, or pinched her side, but she was driving.

"Steve asked if I wanted a copy when he converts it to DVD," Holly couldn't stifle her grin or laughs. Maybe she should pull over until she could get it under control. "I said 'yes.'"

Gail looked away from Holly, back to the road. "You're lucky I can't drive right now, or we'd have taken my car, and _you'd_ be _hitching_ right now."

"Oh, come on," Holly reached over and grabbed Gail's knee, shaking it back and forth lightly. "It wasn't that bad."

Gail, in the best attempt at crossing her arms she could muster, shoved her left arm across her torso. She had been less than happy that day and she was less than happy now. She had felt a tug on her fishing line, and when she tugged back the tension was still there. After consultation with her father and overeager encouragement from Steve she started to reel it in, spinning and spinning the little crank at the base of her pole. You can see her concentration in the video; her tongue poked out of her mouth and her eyes were fixed on where the line disappeared into the water.

"Okay, it was pretty bad," Holly conceded, "but in a completely adorable, slapstick, nostalgic, 'America's Funniest Home Videos' kind of way. It was endearing." She glanced over at Gail for a second but her face was still stone cold. "It wasn't all too flattering of Steve either," Holly tapped lightly at Gail's kneecap. "Your outfits really made the whole thing come together, and that's all on your mom."

"I was _seven_, Holly," Gail tore her eyes away from the road and looked over at Holly, "I picked out my _own_ clothes in the morning." If only Holly could see how much Gail's eyes should be burning her. Holly was still secretly playing it over in her mind though, Gail victoriously struggling to hold up the fish she had caught, no doubt proud that it had chosen _her_ trojan worm instead of her older brother's. Poor little Gail, so proud of herself, but also so surprised when the fish wiggled around and slapped her right in the face, right on her left cheek and the side of her nose. Poor little Gail, so startled and probably quite disgusted, already standing precariously in the center of the canoe, backed herself up right over the edge. You could see it on her face in the video, she _knew_ she was going over, there was no getting around it, but she didn't _want_ to. She flapped her arms, fighting against her current trajectory. It was a losing battle. Then there she was, little Gail, flapping her arms in the water, crying out injustice. Much to her credit, Elaine was in the water instantly. If it was a race, it would have been a photo finish. Gail knew how to swim, she and Steve were both strong swimmers, their parents made sure of that, but Gail was startled and scare, and _pissed_. You could hear Bill telling Steve to help Gail back into the boat while he steadied it, and apparently left the video camera on his lap. Steve, the dutiful eleven year old brother that he was, reached over to help Gail up. However, it seemed that Gail had not forgotten his initial reaction of extreme laughter as she swiftly yanked him over the side and into the water. It was there the video ends.

"The hat?" Holly glanced at Gail for a second before returning her eyes to the road.

"_That_ was a not a choice," Gail insisted, "I burn easily, _okay,_ Mrs. Melanin?" The huge floppy white thing that been the bane of her existence. Her mother would plop it on her head and pull it down tight whenever they went out in the summer. It was _so_ nineteen ninety one.

"Aww," Holly rubbed her hand up and down Gail's left shoulder, "my little white dove."

Gail would never admit it, she could never admit it, but she liked it. Her cheeks burned red not of pure embarrassment, but also out of bashfulness. Bashful for the attention Holly was giving her. Sure, it was teasing, but it was clearly out of adoration. Holly wasn't making _fun_ of her, she didn't insinuate continuing to adore Gail _in spite_ of the film. It wasn't as if Holly was surprised to see Gail was actually a human, had once been a child who fell and cried. Holly clearly thought the video was the funniest thing of the decade, but it wasn't like it caused a complete shift in how she saw Gail. Holly wasn't shocked to see Gail as a kid, vulnerable, and sure, she teased her, but it was different. It was something Gail hadn't felt before and she shied away from it because it made her feel so_ good_ and so_ loved._

Gail huffed and shifted in her seat, "oh just shut up and drive," she commanded as her smiled snuck up one side of her mouth.

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><p><em>"And I'll build a fire, you fetch the water and I'll lay the table, and in our hearts, we still pray for sons and daughters, and all those evenings out in the garden, red red wine, these quiet hours turning to years"<br>- Allman Brown & Liz Lawrence "Sons and Daughters"_

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><p><strong>AN: Thanks for hanging in there guys! You all are truly the best! Hit me up with a review and let me know what you think...although I haven't been updating as frequently I've been planning planning planning (cue evil laugh, except not because I think you'll like it...)**


	19. Chapter 19: Never Far Away

**A/N: Apologies. It's been forever. I'm in a slightly comatose state because of tonight's Grey's (OMG GUYS?! Do you watch?!) so there's probably lots of mistakes that escaped the read through I just gave this chapter. I'll look it over again tomorrow and fix 'er up. But here you go anyways.**

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><p><em>"I think you know what I've been trying to say, I promised I would never leave you, then you should always know wherever you may go, no matter where you are, I never will be far away"<em>

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><p>"Okay, <em>why<em> are we in the coat closet? It's a coat _closet, not_ a coat _room_." Gail looked around shiftily as her eyes tried to adjust to the low light. Being dragged into the closet by Holly's little sister was just about the last thing she expected to happen when she first arrived at the Stewart house.

"Summer, there's barely room for one in here." Holly hooked her light coat onto a hangar because, well, why not? Might as well be productive.

Summer's voice was a low hiss, "I _hate_ her," she crossed her arms as she leaned up against the closed door.

Gail pouted sarcastically, jutting her lower lip out, "aw, shucks, and I thought we were starting to get really close."

"Not _you_, loser," Summer rolled her eyes, this was _serious_. "_Erin_," it flew off Summer tongue as if it tasted sour, she had to get it out, quickly, but it still stung.

Holly's head fell to one side and her eyes closed as she tried to negotiated her response, "you've known her for what? A half hour? Is hate a little strong, maybe?"

"I've known her for an _hour_," Summer corrected with a raised pointer finger, "and she _sucks_. Her laugh is _insufferable_ and she keeps saying everything is cute, 'oh isn't this cute, oh aren't you cute, oh isn't this slice of bread cute,'" Summer mocked Erin in a high pitched, flighty voice.

"Well," Gail placed her good hand on Summer's shoulder and looked her in the eye, "she sounds like a _horrible_ human being, but I'm gonna go," Gail flashed a cool smile and pointed to the door, "lest anyone notice we've crammed ourselves into the closet like Lindsey Lohan a la 'The Parent Trap.'" Gail managed to squeeze past Summer who moved into the space Gail had vacated so that the door could be opened. "Come save me anytime," Gail's eyes flashed up to Holly, "ironic that I'm coming out first, huh?" Gail winked before shutting the door behind her.

Good god. Gail brushed off her sweater as she looked around the hallway. These types of things really weren't her forte, and it wasn't even noon yet so she couldn't exactly liquor up.

"Oh my god!" Gail's hand shot to her chest and her heart collided with her ribcage as she was suddenly face to face with a Saint Bernard in all it's slobbering glory. She backed into the closet door and the points on the clear crystal knob stabbed her lower back as the door was simultaneously pushed open.

A muffled "shit" sounded from inside the closet as Gail side stepped the door while maintaining her distance from the looming dog. The Saint Bernard took a few slow steps toward the closet as Holly and Summer squeezed themselves out.

"Do I _want_ to know what's going on here?"

Summer shot her eyes up to her mother's confused face, "just hanging up the coats, mom, isn't it obvious?"

Holly's mom cocked an eyebrow up, completely clued in to the fact that her youngest was up to something.

"Happy Thanksgiving, mom!" Holly smiled brightly.

"Yes, happy Thanksgiving indeed," Anne continued to try and suss out what was happening between her daughters as she eyed them suspiciously. "Well," Anne turned to look at Gail and her demeanor changed completely, from suspicious mother to joyous hostess, "happy Thanksgiving, Gail. It's lovely to see you again. We're so glad that you're doing well after the accident." She did sound glad, genuine care.

"Happy Thanksgiving to you too," Gail was looking at Holly's mom, and smiling at her, but she was concentrating on the mountainous dog that sat a mere eight inches from her feet.

"_Well_," Holly's mom looked sternly at her youngest, "_disperse_," her instructions were tinged with exasperation, and she followed after Summer quickly down the hall towards the kitchen.

Holly kneeled down to pet the dog that was still waiting by Gail's feet, "hey Hagrid," Holly beamed. The dog's tail wagged vigorously as Holly scratched the top of it's head and behind it's ears. Gail couldn't help but notice that the dog's tail was whipping back and forth dangerously close to a small table with a very expensive looking vase resting on top. "Sorry," Holly looked up at Gail guiltily, "I forgot to tell you my aunt was bringing their dog."

"Oh," Gail shook her head nonchalantly, "I think you mentioned the dog, but this," Gail loosely wagged her finger in the dog's direction, "this, is a horse." Holly cocked her head to the side with a smile as she ran her hands over the dog's floppy ears. Gail continued on, "one of those miniature pony dealios right?"

"Pretty close," Holly smiled wide and opened her mouth in a comical display as she looked at the dog's face, "this is Hagrid," she leaned back so that her face wouldn't be licked, "and _that_ is Gail."

"Hagrid? Really?" Gail thought the name was a little cliched for such a looming dog.

"My cousins picked it out," Holly offered by way of explanation.

"They do know _Siruis_ was the dog, right?" Gail raised an eyebrow, did these kids even watch the movies let alone read the books?

"Yeah, well, Hagrid was also a boy," Holly laughed before rustling the dog's head playfully, "but our Hagrid here is a girl." The dog's tail started wagging quickly again and Gail was sure that vase's days were numbered. "Also, 'Hagrid' means that you've had a bad night," Holly reported sadly, sporting a frown, after briefly covering the dog's ears to spare her feelings, no doubt.

"You're weird," Gail sidestepped around the dog, "I'm going to find the food."

It wasn't even two hours later that Gail found herself cornered by Summer's newly declared foe while grabbing a beer for herself. Gail scanned the options before deciding on one of the various 'Oktoberfest' brews.

"Need a hand with that?"

Gail looked up and was met with Erin's extra perky smile. Her dirty blonde hair contrasted pretty much every other head in the house. "Well, I'm never above people doing things for me," Gail thrusted the bottle in Erin's direction. It probably would have been annoying to pop the top off with only one hand anyways.

Erin took the bottle with a smile and reached for the bottle opener before quickly flipping the cap off. "So, what do you recommend?" Erin started surveying her options after handing the open bottle back to Gail.

"Well, I'm not the bartender," Gail took a sip of her beer, briefly remembering that short lived time when she and Andy went undercover as waitresses at that night club, that was _bad_, "but Spirit Tree's really good, especially if you're looking for something a little sweeter." What do you recommend? Who _is_ this girl? Gail figured _Erin_ probably was the kind of girl that liked to douse her alcohol in sugar. She _also_ knew that if Summer saw Erin walking around with _her_ favorite cider it would piss her off to no end.

"Hmmm," Erin held the neck of one of the bottles in her hand as she pivoted it around on the table, reading the label. "I've heard good things about Spirit Tree but I've never tried it before."

Gail reached over for the bottle opener and popped the top off the cider, "now you will," Gail declared with a smile. Out of the corner of her eye Gail noticed Holly leaning up against the railing outside on the porch.

"So, what's your favorite part of being a cop?" Erin posed her question before taking a sip of her drink. "Mmmm," she smiled after swallowing, "this _is_ really good."

"Told ya," Gail couldn't help but be a little happy her plan seemed to be off to a good start.

"So, Evan said you were in a car accident at work? _You_ were the cop from that child abduction," Erin finally put all the pieces together. Gail looked different in person than in the picture they had thrown up on the news for a week. Maybe it was because she wasn't in uniform. Maybe it was that her hair was down instead of being pulled up in a tight bun. "You guys got hit by a car," Erin sounded sympathetic, she finally put the final piece of the puzzle together.

"It was a jaguar, actually," Gail took a swig of her beer, she really didn't want to have this conversation, especially with this doe-eyed stranger.

Erin's brow furrowed and her face contorted confusion, "wait, like the _animal_?"

"Concrete jungle animal, sure," Gail shrugged.

"Well, that was really amazing what you and your partner did," Erin had pretty much lost track of what Gail was talking about.

"Thanks," Gail smiled weakly, she was tired of being told that being in the right place at the right time was something amazing. She popped the cork off one of the open bottles of red wine and poured it into a glass. "Well," Gail tried to sound regretful as she shoved her beer under her arm and placed the glass of wine in her immobilized hand, "I'm on a mission," Gail nodded towards the glass door the porch. "I'll be back," Gail promised half heartedly as she started backing towards the doors. She shot Erin a smile as she closed the french door. Erin waved back enthusiastically, poor thing.

"Brought you this," Gail reached the glass of wine over to Holly.

Holly was resting her forearms on the railing, looking out over the backyard. She turned her head towards Gail, "thanks, but I'm all set," Holly wiggled the bottle of hard cider in her hands.

"Well can you just take it," Gail stood next to Holly, resting her hip against the railing, "so I don't look like a moron?" Gail eyed the door, she didn't want her cover to be blown

Holly quirked a smile but took the glass from Gail anyways, setting it down on the railing.

"Summer's gonna pissed when she sees you drinking all her favorite cider," Gail bounced her eyebrows up and down.

"_I_ liked it before she could even drive," Holly defiantly took a swig, "and she knows it."

"So," Gail looked over at Holly sweetly, "slinking off during social gatherings is more _my_ thing."

Holly looked at Gail sternly but when Gail smiled knowingly and quirked an eyebrow Holly knew the jig was up. "Okay, I _really_ don't like to say this because I _barely_ know her, and she doesn't seem like a bad person, _but_," Holly dropped her voice down to a hissed whisper, "I _really_ don't like Erin. I can't stand her."

Gail nodded sympathetically, "she just asked me what my 'favorite part of being a cop' is."

"Ugh, she's just _annoying _just being here and being happy and _annoying,_" Holly mumbled, keeping her voice down. Erin might annoy her, but Holly still didn't want to be overheard.

"Welcome to my world," Gail leaned back with a smug smile.

"Now _that's _a scary thought," Holly looked away, out at the backyard.

"Ouch," Gail feigned insult. It was probably a scarier thought for her than it was for Holly. Gail almost shuddered at the thought of Holly inhabiting her personality. "Your grandpa seems to be enjoying himself."

Holly dismissed it quickly without giving it much thought, "yeah, well, he's good at putting on a brave face." Holly's eyes remained trained on a squirrel trying to break into the bird feeder at the edge of the yard.

"You're not so bad yourself," Gail's response was quick, but calm, a slight ribbing but mostly true and concerned.

Holly knew Gail was looking at her but she didn't give in, not just yet. The squirrel was leaning from a small branch, almost at his goal of the bird feeder. His acrobatics were impressive but it was unclear how much longer the branch would hold him and his hanging belly up. Gail hadn't said anything else and Holly knew she was waiting for her. She'd have to give in eventually. Gail was persistent, Holly would never argue with that. Gail was reserved, secretly shy, a reluctant communicator, but when she wanted something she went for it relentlessly.

"Why'd he have to bring her?" Holly kept her eyes trained on the squirrel and twisted the toe of her shoe into the wooden deck. Holly sounded a little bit like a petulant child, which was rare, and Gail couldn't help but smirk, it was completely adorable.

"That's what you do when someone goes down on you on the regs," Gail couldn't help but toy with Holly a little, she wanted to keep the mood light.

"_Gross,_" Holly dropped her head onto the top of her wrist that was holding her bottle of cider. The branch bent a little too far, depositing the squirrel onto the ground. He'd have to try again and Holly missed it.

Gail took a sip of her own drink, eyeing Holly out of the corner of her eye even as she tipped the bottle back and swallowed, "I'll remember that tonight."

"That's not what I _meant_," Holly groaned, shifting so that she rested her chin in her hand, her elbow propped up on the railing, "why'd you even go there?"

"Well, you did ask."

"Why couldn't she have gone home to her own family?" Holly was being childish, she knew it, but she didn't care. Plus, it was Gail she was talking to, she pulled of the adolescent act better than anyone.

"She's from Vancouver, that's hardly a weekend jaunt," Gail had gotten at least that much information when they first met before trying her hardest to tune Erin out.

Holly eyed Gail suspiciously.

"What? I talk to people, I _listen_. Seriously, if you thought you were getting lucky tonight you might want to lower your expectations," Gail raised an eyebrow before bring the bottle up to her lips for another sip.

Holly glared back, her gaze only magnetized and brought attention to by her glasses.

"Am I missing something here?" Gail asked casually, unthreateningly. She was pretty sure she had all the pieces put together but she wanted Holly to have the opportunity to offer up the whole puzzle first. It's rude to swoop in and shout out answers to a crossword that someone's struggling with.

Holly didn't take the bait, she continued to try and hide the puzzle pieces behind her back.

"Holly, come on, your reasons for hating people are usually way more developed and deep seeded than mine," Gail tried a little self depreciation, however true it was, to keep things light. Holly still wasn't budging. Gail's voice was soft and compassionate, "you know she's not taking your grandma's spot right?" Her eyes were open and true, bright but warm blue.

Holly scoffed, "she's dating my brother, not my _grandfather_."

"If you say so," Gail shrugged and took another sip of her beer, "but we won't be able to make fun of her when we leave if we don't spend anymore time with her." Gail flashed a mischievous smile, tilting her head back towards the house. "Come on, the game's about to start and I think I got Erin addicted to your sister's cider," Gail held her hand out and led Holly back inside.

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><p><em>"I think you know what I've been trying to say, I promised I would never leave you, then you should always know wherever you may go, no matter where you are, I never will be far away"<em>  
>- <em>Billy Joel "Lullaby (Goodnight My Angel)"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: So do you want the good news or the bad news first? I always go for the bad news so that's what's going to happen here. Bad news; not one word of the next chapter is written so it won't be up very soon at all. Good news though! I've written at least a good part of/outlined like the next four or five chapters so smooth sailing for a while once the next one get's done.**

**You're adorable and I love you. Since I probably won't be updating before Monday, HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY GUYS! **


	20. Chapter 20: High Society

**A/N: I guess I lied but you don't mind do you? Here's the next chapter sooner than planned.**

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><p><em>"Won't you carry me away a<em>_fter endless ballroom dreams, w__ith you starting every day w__e'll be high society"**  
><strong>_

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><p>"Did you <em>really<em> just root for Edmonton?" Holly looked over at her grandfather suspiciously as she took another bite of her cookie. It was pumpkin molasses, her mom had made them that morning. Summer claimed to have helped, but Holly was sure all she did was sip coffee and gab while their mom did all the baking. They tasted way too good for Summer to have been anything more than a taste tester.

"_Yes_, I did," he almost laughed as he spoke, looking at Holly with a tinge of confusion.

"But you and Gram _always_ rooted for Montreal," Holly tucked her feet under her legs and sank deeper into the sofa.

"Ah, no," her grandfather shook his head with a laugh, his silver hair caught the light, "your grandmother always did, and she was always louder," he patted Holly's knee, solidifying his point that she actually still had things to learn.

Holly narrowed her eyes at him and took another bite of her cookie.

"Your great grandparents were from Toronto," he chuckled, "I can't root for _Winnipeg_," he said it with such awe, like it was the most preposterous, novel thing in the world. Sometimes Holly forgot that her grandfather had grown up in Toronto. Her grandparents had lived in Ottawa since before her father was born and that's where they belonged in her mind.

"New glasses, Gramp Ed?" Holly didn't wait for an answer, she just leaned over and carefully removed the frames from his face. She examined them closely before popping the rest of her cookie in her mouth and brushing her hand on her thigh.

"Took you long enough to notice," he chuckled and took a sip of his tea, now unable to see what was happening on the television screen. His old pair of glasses had dark, round rims, but these were rimless, with thin gold temples and bridge.

Holly took her own glasses off and popped her grandfather's on. She looked around the room, "getting blind old man," she turned to look at him, "how do I look?"

He took Holly's glasses off of her thigh and put them on his own face. "Ah, I think you're the one who's getting blinder, Butterfly."

"Ha," Holly chuckled and returned her grandfather's glasses to him. She put her own on and then took a sip from her glass of wine. Switching glasses like that had really gone to her already slightly drunk head. The room shifted haphazardly and she closed her eyes to make it calm down.

"You used to call your grandmother every Sunday," he said it with a sense of longing. For his wife maybe, maybe for Holly's phone calls. For both, probably.

Holly looked at him with regret, ducking her eyes. She had called her grandmother every Sunday. She'd talk to him too, of course. But sometimes she'd spend a solid hour on the phone with her grandmother. Holly had been able to talk to her like no one else, about things that she couldn't talk to anyone else about. Not because she _couldn't_, that wasn't true, but because she didn't. When you talked about something exclusively with one person, what do you do when they're gone? You could talk to someone else about it, sure, but it just wouldn't be the same. The whole point was having the conversation with that person. Once Holly had spent the entire weekend, literally, the entire weekend, trying to replicate her grandmother's recipe for chocolate croissants, and she spent over forty minutes telling her grandmother about it that Sunday. Her parents had the recipe, sure, but it was _Gram's_. Holly spent months worth of time helping her grandmother in the kitchen when she was a kid. A pigeon had stolen Holly's muffin once when she was out with her grandmother. She was probably only five years old at the time. It had been horrible, it still was a little horrible, but her Gram was the only one who had been there, could _really_ get it when Holly said with a laugh that she crossed the street earlier that week to avoid a flock of pigeons outside the subway station.

"My Sunday schedule is pretty flexible," he said with a smile and a wink.

"Me too," Holly smiled back and rested her head on his shoulder, turning back to the game on the television.

"Bright Eyes other there doing okay?" He nodded towards the other couch where Gail was holding up her empty beer bottle to Summer, silently asking for another.

Holly watched Summer grab the bottle and stalk off to the kitchen. Yup, Summer was definitely drunk, but then again, Gail looked a little drunk too. Really, everyone was a little drunk, except maybe Holly's aunt, such a prude sometimes. "Looks like Summer's on it," Holly joked.

"I meant since the accident," he corrected, "your dad said her police car got hit? It was on the news out at home in Ottawa."

"Don't ever tell her that," Holly looked down into her wine glass as she swirled the liquid around. "But yeah, she'll be fine, that is, as long as she doesn't throw herself into the lake out of sheer boredom."

Gramp Ed waited until Holly looked back up at him, "I don't think she's going anywhere," he smiled, and even behind his glasses Holly could see his eyes twinkle.

Holly blushed and turned her head to look back at Gail who drew her feet up and under her as Hagrid sauntered over. "You sure about that?" Holly snorted as the color in Gail's face drained as Hagrid rested her chin on the couch between Gail's knees. She pressed herself even farther into the back of the couch, trying to create as much distance between herself and the dog as possible. Hagrid's tail wagged quickly back and forth; someone thought she made a new friend. Gail tapped the top of Hagrid's head awkwardly, hoping that after a quick pat maybe she'd move on.

Holly's grandfather brought his thumb and pointer finger up to his mouth, prepared to whistle for Hagrid to come over there. Holly put her hand on his forearm, halting him. "Wait, don't," she said through her muffled laughter.

Gail noticed a beer bottle enter her peripheral vision. She looked up to see Summer dangling the beer over the couch. Gail grabbed it right away, as soon as she did Summer rounded the couch and plopped herself down next to Gail.

"Awwww, she likes you," Summer smiled over at Hagrid, who's face was still planted firmly between Gail's knees.

"Make her go away," Gail looked over at Summer sternly, trying to communicate how serious this situation was.

"Tell that to your girlfriend," Summer snorted and nodded over to Holly and their grandfather, trying, and failing, to keep straight faces across the room.

* * *

><p>A few hours later Gail found herself rocketing under the streets of Toronto on one of the city's charming subway cars with the Stewart siblings; and Erin. Gail wasn't a huge fan of public transportation but when she did avail herself the use of her department discounted Metropass she liked to do it drunk. The plush red seats were enough to give a blind person a pounding headache and the bright florescent lights did not flatter. At least the car was essentially empty except for the five of them. A man in a sharp looking suit sat scrolling through his phone at the other end of the car. A woman sat next to him, leaning her head against his shoulder, probably dozing off, or just closing her eyes to keep the bright subway lights and red seats at bay. Gail was in a seat flush with the wall, her legs resting on the aisle seat of the pair to her left that faced forward. The buzz from the alcohol, the movement of the train, and the soft cushion Holly's shoulder provided for Gail's head made her feel a little bit like she was floating. Floating underground sounds weird she supposed, but whatever.<p>

"Summer, you guys go to Arizona next weekend, right?" Evan leaned around Erin to look at his younger sister who was sprawled unceremoniously across the two seats that were perpendicular to the pair he and Erin sat in. He leaned onto his jean clad knees with his elbows, resting his chin in his left palm.

"_What_?" Panic registered in Summer's voice as she scurried to sit up in her seat. She was thinking really hard, trying to think quickly but the alcohol in her system was slowing down the process. "Oh, no," she flapped her hand in his direction, "that's the weekend after. We're off this weekend, don't even have practice tomorrow," she breathed a sigh of relief, she did have class though. "Can't wait to get a tannn," Summer groaned, relaxing back into the seat and scrambling her limbs up again.

"Aren't you guys there for like, less than forty-eight hours?" Holly piped up, stifling a yawn.

"So?" Summer raised an eyebrow, "it's an outdoor pool anyways, so, gonna get that summer shade backkk," Summer ran her hands down her arms that were covered by her jacket. She pulled at her cheeks, "I've gotten _so_ pale," she complained. Summer had spent much of her summer outside, making her shades darker than her older brother and sister at the moment.

"Yeah, the palest," Gail rolled her eyes. Gail had spent a few summers in her early teenage years trying to sun soak her cotton colored skin into a shade that could pass for something a little more golden. All attempts were total and utter failures, resulting in pained lectures from her mother and going through bottles and bottles of aloe. After those few summers Gail gave up on trying to darken her alabaster skin; spray tans always looked so tacky, and Gail was anything but tacky. She shot her eyes over to the doorway as a pile of high looking college aged kids funneled onto the train. "Hipsters," Gail grumbled as the smell of weed and leather assaulted her as they filed past, deeper into the train. She eyed them suspiciously because she could. The train started up and Gail was floating again.

Summer checked her bag for her keycard to get into her dorm and her room key. Her wallet had fallen below the tupperware of cookies her mom had sent her back to school with. They were her favorite, really. "Back to the trenches," she groaned as she grabbed the pole next to her seat and stood up. The intercom announced that the the train was entering her stop.

Erin also rose from her seat, brushing off the back of her khakis, checking her purse for her wallet and phone. Evan looked up at her, confused, "we're the next one," he reminded her.

"We're walking her back," Erin clarified, wasn't it obvious?

"Really, I'm a big girl," Summer showed Erin and Evan the inside of her bag, revealing the pepper spray her dad had given her when she was sixteen.

"It's late," Evan stood up in agreement.

"And you're drunk," Gail snorted.

"And it's dark," Holly added.

"Yeah, that's what I meant by 'it's late,'" Evan waved his hand, not wanting to be forgotten. Holly stuck her tongue out at him.

"And they say you're the oldest," Summer commented, "but, as you wish," Summer smiled cheekily at Holly and Gail on her way towards the door as the lights of the underground station became visible.

"Toodles, kids," Gail wiggled her fingers as she waved goodbye.

Holly offered a more traditional goodbye and leaned her head back as the train picked up speed again.

"Gotta say, liking Erin a lot more," Gail closed her eyes lazily, letting her head fall onto Holly's shoulder once again.

"Why?" Holly chuckled.

"For making your brother walk your sister home, so we didn't have to do it, _obviously_," Gail peeked an eye open. Didn't it go without saying?

"You were gonna have us walk my sister home? You're _so_ sweet," Holly looked at Gail with fake astonishment.

"I am, aren't I?" Gail wiggled in self satisfaction.

"I guess she wasn't that bad," Holly huffed.

"Just because you wouldn't want to hang out with her doesn't mean she's a bad person."

"Did you really just say that?" Holly looked over at Gail, confused. She knew a lot of Gail's abrasiveness was a defense mechanism, but Gail also was genuinely annoyed by a lot of people. Maybe it was just because her prickly disposition allowed her to be honest with herself and the whole world when she felt someone didn't deserve the time of day.

"Rude," Gail closed her eyes again. The subway was best when you were drunk and your eyes were closed. "Where to?"

"Ugh, I have work tomorrow," Holly's head sank back further and rubbed at her forehead with two fingers. The long weekend had been especially welcome after the craziness that had been the weeks after Gail's accident. Holly loved science, she liked her coworkers, she _loved _her job ninety percent of the time, but she could really go for another day off, or three.

"_Shit_," Gail's eyes shot open, "I told Dov I'd water his stupid mint plant, or whatever it is." Dov had taken almost a week and gone to Montreal for the holiday. "He's coming back on Wednesday and I haven't touched it since we left for the cabin," Gail smiled in a guilt filled glee.

"I could drop you there on my way to work tomorrow," Holly moved her hand from Gail's knee up her thigh, "if you come back to mineee."

"Sold."

"And it's spearmint," Holly added with a smirk.

* * *

><p><em>"Won't you carry me away a<em>_fter endless ballroom dreams, w__ith you starting every day w__e'll be high society"_  
>- <em>Betty Who "High Society"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Spearmint, _duh. _You're awesome, _duh_. Gail's super bored of her sling, _duh_. Maybe I'll fix that soon. Who misses 15? I just raised my hand...**


	21. Chapter 21: Stare Down Passin' Traffic

**A/N: Here, have another. Chapter 21 was uploaded yesterday so don't miss it by accident.**

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><p><em>"She shoots but never misses, stare down passin' traffic, go carefully, carefully, oh, airstream driver"<em>

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><p>"Car!" Gail slid her hands over the dashboard as a gleeful smile played across her face. "I missed you, yes I did," she ran her hands around the steering wheel and bounced up and down, adjusting her butt in the seat. Gail pushed the key in the ignition and reveled when the engine roared to life. She turned the radio on and found the loudest station she could before firing up the seat warmer and rolling down all the windows. The late afternoon sun peeked through the buildings and beat down through the windshield. Gail flipped the visor down, snatching her sunglasses, and placed them carefully on the bridge of her nose. She threw on her seatbelt, clicking it into place, and finally pulled out of her parking spot and onto the open road.<p>

Gail wasn't one of those people that _loved_ to drive, especially around the city. Driving up around the cottage was different, but the city was full of traffic, red lights, stop signs, and bicyclists. Put some people behind the wheel day or night and they could drive for days and love it. Gail wasn't one of those people; generally she could take it or leave it. Depending on who her partner was she _did _like to drive at work though. Driving gave her a distraction from whatever Chloe was blabbering on about, and sometimes Dov could get a little too fast and a little too furious; it gave her control, an upper hand in the partnership. However, especially when she was off duty and couldn't use lights or sirens to force other cars to give way, Gail was perfectly content to be a passenger, especially if she could maintain control of the radio. However, being grounded for the past three weeks had really gotten old. Gail wasn't really a subway or city bus kind of person. Sure, every once in a while she relished the opportunity to witness some of Toronto's weirdest in action without having to arrest them, but she really maxed out at about three rides a month. Gail reveled in independence, and not being able to drive for three weeks really impeded that.

Gail leaned to her right as the car curved around the on ramp to the highway. She adjusted the visor as the sun had fallen lower in the sky, assaulting her eyes. Gail's upbringing, and line of work provided her with an unrivaled knowledge of Toronto's alleyways, roads, highways, and byways. Well, unrivaled except for Steve, maybe. Her mother didn't make growing up easy, that's for sure, but one thing Gail would never complain about is the geography that was instilled in her. You could drop her blindfolded anywhere within city limits and she'd be able to find her way home, or to the nearest police station, and she'd been able to do that by the age of fourteen. Really, Gail's dislike for driving really stemmed from other drivers. Other drivers caused accidents, roadblocks, and traffic. Traffic is such a mindless waste. Gail had become an expert at avoiding traffic, knowing the shortest and most efficient route from almost anywhere in the city to almost anywhere else in the city. Having to resort to jumping on the highway always seemed like it was a little bit of a loss. Having to go so far out of your way but having it actually be the quickest route created a sense of nagging behind Gail's jaw, and discontent in her very soul. But, she found herself not caring as she hopped on the Don Valley Parkway, quickly needing to slow well below the speed limit to accommodate the late afternoon volume of motorists. She kept the windows down and turned on the heat a bit, October was over halfway gone, after all.

"Hey," Holly looked up from the computer screen when she heard footsteps cross the threshold into her office. Her voice was one part surprise, one part delight, and one part Holly, and it made Gail smile without even realizing. Holly pushed off from the desk before rising from her chair as Gail made her way farther into the small room. "So it went well then?" Holly noticed that, for the first time in weeks, Gail wasn't wearing her sling. She didn't say anything though, she just walked into Holly's space, threw her arm's around Holly's waist, and held her impossibly close. At first it was almost hard for Holly to breathe but Gail loosened her grip a smidge. She nuzzled her face into the dip at the base of Holly's neck and breathed her in. She smelled a little bit like formaldehyde but Gail chose to ignore it. She concentrated on the lavender of Holly's shampoo, and the cocoa butter of her moisturizer. Holly ran her hands up and down Gail's back, "you okay?" She whispered in Gail's ear as her hands continued their path up and down.

"Great," Gail smiled into Holly's neck.

Holly's hands stilled at Gail's lower back, "are you sure?" She dropped a kiss below Gail's ear.

"What?" Gail dug into Holly's neck with her nose, "am I not allowed to hug you anymore?"

"You're always allowed," Holly smiled and twisted her neck to kiss the side of Gail's head, "but you usually don't come all the way uptown to do it."

"Well I _haven't_ been allowed," Gail countered, pouting slightly as she kept her hold around Holly's waist.

Holly chuckled and leaned her chest back so she could see Gail's face, "says _who_?"

"Says Doctor No Hugs who made me wear that stupid sling for the past two and a half weeks," Gail pouted and pinched the back of Holly's hip to drive home her point.

Holly cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips as she pondered Gail's argument, "you have a point there," she concluded. "So it went well? She said you could stop wearing it?"

"No," Gail dropped her head to one side, "I'm disobeying doctor's orders because it felt _so_ good when the medics popped my shoulder back in, and I really want them to have to do it again."

Holly pursed her lips and looked at Gail firmly.

"_Yes_," Gail admitted with a huff and a laugh, "she said I could stop wearing it, and I'm going in to see the doctor on Monday. Happy?"

"Very," Holly smiled brightly; accomplished.

"So can you leave yet?" Gail's face exploded with childlike excitement as she grabbed at Holly's biceps. She really did look like a kid in a candy store. The novelty of a few straight weeks of vacation had really worn off, especially on days like today when all of Gail's friends were working. Her eyes sparkled, her eyebrows raised hopefully. Holly looked a little apprehensive so Gail batted her eyelashes, "it's a Friday and it's five o'clock."

Holly worried on her bottom lip before letting a smile escape, "give me twenty minutes."

"Great," Gail let go of Holly's arms, spinning around on her heels before dropping herself down in the chair across from Holly's desk, "we can use your fireplace to burn the stupid synthetic thing after dinner."

* * *

><p><em>"She shoots but never misses, stare down passin' traffic, go carefully, carefully, oh, airstream driver"<em>  
>- <em>Gomez "Airstream Driver"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Back to work soon? I wonder how that's gonna work out...**

**You're great.**


	22. Chapter 22: Any Second Now

_"We know the feeling, just believe me; it's nearly morning, any second now"_

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><p>"How's your pain been?" Dr. Williamson looked up from his clipboard and eyed Gail carefully as she pulled her sweatshirt over her head, shrugging her right arm into the sleeve.<p>

"Fine," her answer fell flat as she pulled her hair out from under the neck of her sweatshirt.

He looked at her expectantly, waiting for an elaboration, crossing his left leg onto his right while he waited, resting the clipboard on the side of his left shoe. Gail just sat there, perched up on the exam table with her hands on her knees, face blank, waiting for his next question. When it became clear to Dr. Williamson that 'fine' was the full answer Gail was going to offer up, he went with a different approach. "How have the pain meds I prescribed been working?"

"I used them the first few days, but then I stopped," she said with a shrug, "sometimes I take some Advil after PT, but that's it." Gail took her hands off her knees and placed them behind her so she could lean back, bracing her torso with her arms.

He scribbled something down on the paper while firing away another question, "were the meds causing side effects?"

"Nah," Gail tilts her head, "didn't think I needed them anymore. I was right."

He wrote her answer down before moving along, "are you in pain during your appointments?"

"Uh," Gail removed her right hand from the table and brought it across her front to scratch at her left shoulder, "no. I'm usually sore after but I wouldn't call it _pain_."

Dr. Williamson gave a nod while scratching at the paper with his pen. "So," his gaze shifted up to her, "you've been without the sling for, basically three days, correct?"

Gail's head nodded loosely, almost a roll, "yup," she answered with a pop.

"How has that been?" He plopped his left foot back on the ground, crossing his right on his left this time.

"Fine," Gail's shoulders gave another bob, "I mean, it feels a little funny to be without it, but it doesn't hurt or anything."

"Okay," he made a quick, fast, note on the page. "Well," he lifted up the page to scan over the one behind it, "I don't think you should be firing a gun for another week or so, but I don't see why you can't be in uniform."

"So I can go back to work?" Gail leaned forward on the table, making the paper covering the mint green pleather crinkle.

"For _light_ duty," Dr. Williamson clarified as he spun around on the stool to log onto the computer. "We're still at least two weeks from me giving you the all clear. Just because the pain's gone doesn't mean you're completely healed."

"But I can go back to work," Gail wanted to make sure she wasn't hearing things, and that he wasn't about to renege on his previous statement.

He swiveled away from the computer and looked up at Gail over the rims of his glasses, "I'm not clearing you for active duty, but I see no reason why you can't engage in a little old fashioned desk duty," he smiled up at her.

"I _love_ desk duty," Gail announced smugly as she hopped down from the examination table with a smile. Okay, that was a lie, but Gail does love her job, and she was going seriously insane after three plus weeks off. It was getting even worse now that she wasn't in any actual pain or really immobilized, it just made it seem like even more of a waste.

"I'll send your paperwork off to your Sergeant right now," he told her, as she threw her jacket on around her shoulders.

"So, can I go now?" Gail was pointing to the door, already inching towards it.

The doctor couldn't help but chuckle, "make an appointment for late next week on your way out."

"Sweet," Gail smiled cooly as she swung the door open and made her exit.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Holly's voice was full of apology as she hurriedly sluffed off her coat, and draped it on the back of her chair, "accident on the 401." Holly scooted her chair in and grabbed the napkin propped up on her plate.

"No worries," Gail tipped her glass back for another sip.

Holly's eyes found the glass of red in front of her place setting, "you ordered this for me?" Holly smiled as she took a sip, eyeing Gail over the glass.

"And these," Gail added as a waiter placed a plate of siam rolls on the table between them.

"I'm _famished_," Holly grabbed one, dipping it quickly in the sauce, before taking a large bite.

Gail almost laughed, Holly was usually much more, well, for lack of a better word, polite. She had much better table manners than Gail did. Well, Gail had impeccable table manners, but rarely exercised them.

"Oh!" Holly brushed her hands on the napkin resting on her lap, "how'd your appointment with Dr. Williamson go?" She looked across at Gail eagerly, eyes alight.

Gail picked at her jeans under the table, "good," she nodded, grabbing a roll and taking a big bite, "he cleared me to go back to work," she huffed out through a full mouth.

Holly raised an eyebrow, entirely unsure of what Gail had said.

Gail took a couple gulps of water as Holly waited for her to translate. "He cleared me to go back to work," Gail locked eyes with Holly, bracing herself for whatever reaction was to come. Something flashed across Holly's eyes and Gail quickly added, "for _desk_ duty."

"That's good," Holly smiled softly, adding a slight nod of her head.

Gail gave Holly a _look_.

"Really, Gail," Holly dropped her head to the side, "it's not like I thought you were never going back to work." Holly grabbed another roll off the plate and cut it in half, taking her time with this one. "Plus, I'm starting to think that you being left unattended all day with nothing to do is perhaps more dangerous than patrolling."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" Gail leaned back, bracing her elbow on the chair back.

Holly laughed, wiping gently at her mouth with the napkin, "Dov told me about the bookcase experiment."

Gail kept her face flat, turning her nose up, "you're both just jealous you didn't think of it."

"Um, well, I think we're both just glad that you and the building survived," Holly took another sip of her wine while Gail sat upright and affronted. "So when are you going back?" Holly asked as if Gail's arms weren't crossed and her nose wasn't up.

Gail dropped the act, reaching for another roll and her drink at once. "A few days? I dunno, depends on how long the paperwork takes to go through," she shoved half of the roll into her mouth, "Frank will probably want it to happen quickly since they're short staffed though," her words were barely intelligible, at best.

"That's really classy you know," Holly said sarcastically with a swirl of her wine glass, "classically elegant. Are you sure you weren't raised in Buckingham Palace?"

Gail flipped her wrist, turning her nose up, "you wanna be me but you can't be me."

Holly furrowed her brow, cocking a loopy smile, "someone's been watching too much Grey's Anatomy during her time off."

"I have not!" Gail denied quickly, defensively, _loudly_. She looked slyly around the restaurant, trying to judge the level of disturbance she'd caused. "I _don't_ watch Grey's Anatomy," Gail said more calmly, firmly, with a slight shake of her head, punctuating what a ridiculous notion it was. She reached for her drink, taking a slow sip.

Holly raised her hand, flatly twisting it casually, "so, the second disc of season three was in your DVD player the other day because, what?" Holly smiled, "Steve and your dad stopped by on his lunch break?"

Gail almost choked on her Jack and Coke, turning beat red.

Holly flipped her menu open with a satisfied smirk.

"Addison's a boss ass bitch, okay? And I identify with Cristina's regard for people and general love of tequila," Gail brought the menu up in front of her face, even though she already knew what she wanted to order.

Holly pursed her lips for a second, keeping her eyes trained on the menu, "Addison leaves at the beginning of season four." She delivered the news cooly, calmly, calculated, and it's good Gail's menu prevented her from seeing the twinkle in Holly's eyes.

"What?!" Gail snapped her menu shut.

Holly doesn't bat an eye, still perusing the entrees, "she gets her own show though. Seriously, Gail? Where were you in 2007 through, well, last year? Private Practice ran for six seasons."

"You _watched_?" Gail leaned forward, scandalized, planting her elbow on the table, resting her chin on her fist. "I thought you _hate_ medical shows?"

Holly shrugged, "the southern bossy blonde one was hot."

"You're mean," Gail narrowed her eyes, fixing Holly with her best glare, "you're really mean, you know that?"

"You're going back to work, I get to be a little mean," Holly said it before she knew it was out of her mouth. Her instinct was to look up and across the table at Gail. She fought the urge, instead burning her eyes through the Pad Thai options, hoping, maybe, that Gail didn't notice. Maybe she was too focussed on the major spoilers Holly just dropped on her that she wasn't even listening.

"Holly."

_Shit_. There it was. Holly drew her eyes up, tilting her head warmly to the side, "Gail, I didn't mean it like-"

"Holly," Gail dismissed Holly's blubbering, waiting for her to stop rambling before continuing, "I've been left a lot. Nick alone left me upwards of three times. Even 'do goody' Chris left me. You _staying_, even when you _can't_, just might be worse though. I can't do that to you." Gail didn't know how things got so heavy so quick, but apparently they did. She blindsided herself with this discussion, so she reached for her glass.

"Gail," Holly shook her head, quickly shutting her menu and discarding it on the table, "that's not what this is," Holly reached across the table for Gail's hand, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. "Of all people, I know who's most likely to end up on my table, and it basically boils down to being old, and unlucky." Gail took a deep breath, storing the air in her lungs, bracing herself for what was to come as the pad of Holly's thumb started skimming over her knuckles calmly. "I hate the thought of anything happening to you, and I hate the thought of being without you even more. I'm going to worry sometimes, that's just the ways it's going to be, but that's _just _the way it's going to be. I'm not going to let it make me any less happy than I am, because when I'm with you I'm _really_ happy," Holly broke out into one of her signature meandering grins, and as much as Gail hated it, her heart melted a little. She used to think that Holly smiled like that just for her, but Gail quickly realized that that's just who Holly was, smiling, happy, unwaveringly joyful. "So you shouldn't either," Holly continued. "Just because I've come to grips with the reasons why you wear a kevlar vest to work doesn't mean it's irrelevant, and it _will_ come up, but I'm not going to leave you because of it, _nor _am I going to stay with you because of it. So _you _need to come to grips with _that_." Holly finished by tapping her pointer finger twice on the back of Gail's hand.

They both were quiet for a moment. Gail processed best in the quiet.

"You're _really_ weird," Gail narrowed her eyes and leaned back in her seat, but didn't let go of Holly's hand.

"I think you mean brilliant, and always right," Holly raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, whatever, you're still mean for spoiling my shows." Gail gave Holly's hand a squeeze before removing her hand to cross her arms on her chest.

"Also, _starving_," Holly said seriously, looking Gail in the eye while reaching across the table and taking the rest of the roll from Gail's plate and popping it into her mouth. Holly's eye's darted around the restaurant, trying to spy a waiter to flag down while Gail sat pursing her lips.

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><p><em>"We know the feeling, just believe me; it's nearly morning, any second now"<em>  
><em>- Luke Sital Singh "Nearly Morning"<em>

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><p><strong>AN:** **You all are super sweet. Annnnnd now that we have to wait an extra two months for more Gail and Holly somehow that just inspires me to write even more? Fucked up, no? I've got something special in the works for you sweet people so keep a look out for more about that in my next update, which should be coming fairly soon!**

**We're back to 15 Division next time around! Who are you missing the _most_?**


	23. Chapter 23: Close My Eyes, Is This Real?

_"Suddenly strange, everything's right inside my brain. It's just what I imagined. Something's not right. Shadows appear, I close my eyes, is this real? Lost in my bed, and I'm lost in my head"_

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><p>Gail dug her chin further into her palm, stabbing the mouse with her pointer finger to refresh her email once again. Saying it had been a slow day would be an understatement. It very well might be the slowest day Gail has ever experienced since graduating from the academy. A slow glance to the clock confirmed it was twelve forty two, exactly one minute since Gail last checked. Only one person had come into the station all day, and all she needed was directions to an office building that was just around the corner. Gail perked up when she heard the door swing open, her head shot up like a prairie dog. Her frown was quickly turned upside down when she saw it was Holly breezing through the doorway.<p>

"Hey," Holly's smile was crooked and wide as she slapped a white takeaway bag onto the counter.

"Bored," was what Gail offered up as a greeting. She wasted no time diving into the bag Holly had placed on the counter. She dug quickly through the contents, taking stock of everything in the bag before pulling out a sandwich. Gail peeled away the aluminum foil and, upon finding it indeed had no tomatoes, took a large bite. She chewed briefly before forcing the contents of her mouth down her throat, "you're the first person to walk through the door in over three hours." Gail adjusted the foil for optimal eating, "I was just about to check to make sure it wasn't locked." Gail bit into the sandwich again, she _was_ hungry. Well, maybe she was just bored, but whatever, she really wanted the sandwich.

Holly had looked on, amused, as Gail had scurried through the bag like a squirrel at a bird feeder.

Gail swallowed forcefully, gulped really, and smiled sweetly, "you came _all_ the way downtown to bring _me_ my _favorite _sandwich for lunch?" She batted her eyelashes, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, nooo," Holly tapped her finger on top of the desk, she couldn't help but chuckle as Gail's face fell dramatically, "I have a meeting with the prosecutor so I thought I'd swing by," Holly twisted her wrist to look at her watch, "and traffic was _awful,_ and so was the line at the deli, so I actually have to leave in like five minutes."

Gail pouted.

"Sorry," Holly frowned apologetically. "So boring day?" Holly plucked out one of the bags of chips, and pulled it open, popping one into her mouth.

"The _most_ boring," Gail declared through a full mouth, "sorting abandoned property was more fun."

"Well, be careful," Holly raised her eyebrows and popped another chip in her mouth, "you'll jinx yourself."

Gail groaned, her jaw braced around the sandwich, ready to take another bite. Holly was right. The afternoon was bound to be full of lame walk-ins and mountains of paperwork.

Holly looked down at her watch again, "I gotta go," she smiled regretfully, packing her sandwich back in the bag, leaving all but one of the napkins on the desk for Gail.

"Lame," Gail chastised.

"It is," Holly threw her bag over her shoulder, "be good."

"You're coming to The Penny tonight right?" Gail's voice seemed to be a mixture of hope and nerves, and Holly couldn't help but smile as she turned back from her way to the door.

"I won't have to buy my own drinks right?" Holly asked with a smirk.

"I guess not," Gail shrugged shyly.

"Perhaps I'll see you there, Officer," Holly smiled, shooting Gail a wink as she backed out the door to the parking lot.

"Hey, how does it feel to be back?" Dov quickened his pace to catch up to Gail. She was on her way back to the front desk, a fresh mug of coffee in hand. Dov had been pulling double shifts for the past two weeks so that he'd be able to have almost a straight week off to go up and visit with his grandmother in Montreal. She moved back there a little while after his brother died and Dov did really miss her. She was getting older, and every time he visited he noticed it a little more. Even though they were still roommates, between Dov's double shifts, Gail's zero shifts, and her nights spent at Holly's, they had barely seen each other in weeks.

"I was okay with it," Gail paused, turning her head to look Dov hard in the eyes, "until everyone started asking me how it feels to be back," she added, accusingly flatly, as she continued to make her way towards the front desk. She'd be on desk for at least a week and a half but it was better than watching anymore daytime television. Maybe she'd even get assigned to booking soon. That would be a thrill compared to the last week of her time off.

Dov held the door separating the hallway and the area behind the front desk open and Gail slid past him. "Huh, yeah, I should have known better," Dov thought back to when he returned to work after the shooting. Everyone asking him about it really was the worst part. He shoved his hands into his uniform jacket, looking down at the floor for a second. He and Nick had just brought a guy into booking who was driving with a revoked license. They'd agreed to grab five before heading back out on patrol. "Well, it's good to have you back, balance has been restored," he chuckled, fishing his hands out of his pockets and resting them on his gun and radio.

"Yeah, well, we wouldn't want anyone thinking too highly of themselves," Gail scanned slowly around the entranceway. It was quiet, just as it had been all day, everything was in order.

Dov hopped up onto the waist high desk as Gail started logging back onto the computer, "hey so I've been meaning to talk to you, but with the holiday and all we haven't seen much of each other in the past couple weeks and, well, I just wanted to-"

"Dov," Gail smiled but narrowed her eyes, "spit it out, I can't kill you while we're both in uniform." She took a sip of her coffee but eyed him over the top of her 'DAD' mug.

"Right," Dov laughed nervously and smiled, "so, Chloe and I talked about moving in together."

Dov waited for Gail to say something but she was quiet, holding his gaze and blinking slowly.

"So, well, her place is pretty small, so she'd either move into our place or we'd find one of our own. Our lease is up at the end of the year, and I didn't know if you wanted to stay or not. I mean, I get it if you don't want Chloe moving in with us, but I didn't know if you even wanted to stay. We can talk about it later but I just wanted to give you a chance to mull it over-"

"Epstein!" Nick called out from down the hallway, through the glass door, having just emerged from the men's room. Nick pulled his jacket back on, "you coming?"

Dov gave Nick a thumbs up before turing back to Gail. "I didn't know if you and Ho-"

"Dov, I get it," she cut him off forcefully, "you and Liesl von Trapp want to play house and make kugel," she waved him off and turned to her computer screen, "later."

"Alright," Dov stood up and patted his hand on the desk, smart enough to take the hint, "have fun on desk," he joked, which earned him a snort. "Penny tonight!" Dov pointed at Gail as he pushed the door open with his back, reversing down the hallway.

"You're buying," Gail promised him.

"Ha," Dov tossed it over his shoulder, "your brother's buying!" Dov's smile grew wider, "Traci already swiped one of his credit cards incase he tries to cheap out of it."

Gail eyed Dov in her peripheral vision, waiting until he had walked out to the parking lot before dropping her head into her hands, resting her elbows on the desk. She let out a loud breath as she rubbed at her temples, trying to massage away a nonexistent headache.

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><p><em>"Suddenly strange, everything's right inside my brain. It's just what I imagined. Something's not right. Shadows appear, I close my eyes, is this real? Lost in my bed, and I'm lost in my head"<em>  
><em>- Sky Ferreira "Lost in My Bedroom"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Hey readers! So, as another outlet for my Gail & Holly feels I made a tumblr for these stories. Also, partially ****because half the time I come over to update FF is really mean and won't let me log in or is just down completely. Maybe not half the time, but it kinda feels like that. Anyways, you can find my stories there, and now that we've got almost four months until season 5 I've decided I'm going to do some one shots and drabbles to help pass the time. I'm also going to be posting the songs I include lyrics from, if you want to give them a listen. So, if tumblr is your playground give it a look. ybmojfics dot tumblr dot com. You can also find the link in my author's profile. If tumblr makes your skin crawl and your head hurt never fear! I'll still be posting here as usual!**

**Lots of you (me!) are missing Oliver! I realized he's been _really_ lacking in this story. I'm almost ashamed because I _love_ Oliver, and I think he and Gail are such a hilarious pair. Don't worry! Oliver will be joining the gang at the Penny in the next chapter! I've got some things planned for him, but you might have to wait a few more chapters for that...**

**Who misses Elaine? She'll be popping back up too...**


	24. Chapter 24: Could I Lock in Your Love?

**A/N: Just a couple quick notes before the chapter, first off, the Google machine tells me the Security Intelligence Service is like Canada's version of the FBI...**

**Also, to the guest who wants to some drama/angst, you've got balls! I thought drama/angst was something everyone wants but never actually asks for. Props kiddo. It's on it's way...**

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><p><em>"You, you enchant me even when you're not around. If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down. I'm latching on, babe, now I know what I have found"<em>

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><p>Holly scanned the room as the door swung closed behind her. Air flurried lightly around her as the vacuum created by the open door died down. Holly spied Gail leaning against the bar with Chloe and Dov so she made her way over to order a drink and something to eat. She was more than a little hungry after staying later at work to catch up on some of the tests and paperwork she had fallen behind on while she was at the courthouse. The Penny was busier than normal for a Thursday. It was nearly seven thirty and the 'single drink after work' crowd should have started to thin, but it was still generally busy, and maybe a little bit rowdy for a typical weeknight.<p>

"Hey," Holly placed a kiss on Gail's cheek as she sidled up to the bar.

"Hi," Gail squeaked out while keeping her mouth around the straw that was transporting liquid from her glass to her mouth; alcohol to her blood.

Holly decided to ignore Gail's off kilter greeting and turned to the bartender for a drink and a meal. "So, how was the first day back?" Holly turned back towards the trio, taking a swig from her freshly poured beer.

"Uh, fine," Gail's eyes flew around the room, finally landing on Oliver and Chris removing their darts from the board. "I had winner!" Gail announced quickly, grazing Holly's forearm as she slipped by towards the other end of room.

"What was that?" Holly almost laughed, pointing over her shoulder in the direction Gail had gone. "Did I do something?" Holly looked to Dov and Chloe curiously, "because I'm pretty positive I _didn't,_" she mused, quirking her head to the side. Gail never played darts; Gail made fun of who did.

"That was probably my fault," Dov started to explain, "earlier I tol-" he stopped talking and winced in pain as the heal of Chloe's boot connected with his toes, covered only by a pair of boat shoes. Not that it didn't go unnoticed by Holly, but to Dov's credit he recovered quickly, "I asked her how her first day back was, after everyone else in the division did. Guess it was one too many times," he added a smile, quickly bringing his pint up to his lips, tipping it back for another sip, and a reason to shut up.

"Uh _huh_," Holly smiled sideways at him, not really buying it, but willing to see how it played out, "so not my _best_ opening line."

"Hey losers," Gail approached Chris and Oliver with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Hey," Oliver pointed at Chris, his hand still wrapped around the darts, "loser fetches the next round," Oliver raised an eyebrow, indicating Chris was shackled to his errand boy duties; there was no escape.

Gail kicked her glass back, finishing off the contents in record time, shoving the glass at Chris, "make mine a double," she instructed.

Chris accepted the glass begrudgingly, rolling his eyes as he turned towards the bar, preparing to trudge through the midsize crowd.

"Let's see what ya got, old man," Gail leaned against the wall next to the dart board, challenging Oliver.

"Very funny, Peck," Oliver laughed, swatting his hand out in front of him, indicating the ridiculousness of her proposition.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean," Gail narrowed her eyes at him, grabbing Chris's discarded darts, clutching them in one hand and tapping the ends with her other palm.

Oliver chuckled, "well, um," he scratched the tip of his nose quickly, "I've seen you play darts, um, _never_," his eyes went wide as he let his jaw go slack, stooping forward, all to accentuate his point.

"Someone is afraid to _lose_," Gail baited him as she made her way slowly from the board to the throwing area.

Oliver snorted, "yeah sure," sarcasm oozed from his voice.

"Just move over," Gail hip checked Oliver out of the way so she could throw.

Oliver could barely contain his excitement and curiosity at how the chips would fall. He stood, arms crossed, darts in one hand, smiling like an idiot, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Gail was an excellent shot with a glock. He assumed her parents taught her to shoot as a teenager. However, he was well aware that pointing a gun, and throwing something, were very different skills, even though they both revolved around staring at a target. "_Wow_," Oliver mocked sounding impressed, "well that," he raised his palm over at the board, "I _really_ don't think I stand a chance." Oliver shook his head while taking the few steps over to the line.

"Oh wow," Chris laughed as he placed the triangle of drinks he was carrying onto the table Gail was leaning against, "really great shot."

"Shut up," Gail made a face at him before connecting her fist with his shoulder. She grabbed the drink he had fetched her. "Being drunk makes you better at this shit, right?"

"Um, I'm not really sure about that," Chris rubbed at his shoulder, cringing a little as Gail put a sizable dent in her fresh drink.

"So, Peck," Oliver wandered over to the table to take a sip of the beer Chris had brought over, "care to share why you've decided to grace this lonely corner of the bar with your presence for," he paused for dramatic effect, "the first time _ever_?" Oliver's head batted to and fro as he finished his question.

"Nope," Gail raised her eyebrows as she took another drink, almost finishing off what was left in the glass.

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><p>It was at least an hour later that Holly found herself at the bar with Chris. Gail had been elusive ever since she ran away to play darts with Oliver. Holly wasn't stupid; she noticed. However, she was also well versed in 'Gail', and figured it was probably best to just ride it out for a little while longer.<p>

"Okay, so is it just me, or has Gail been avoiding me all night?" Holly looked over at Chris, sounding slightly amused, as she accepted her glass of seltzer from the bartender.

Chris chuckled and ordered another beer.

Holly waited for him to turn back towards her, their hips and elbows mirror images up against the bar. "She's avoiding me," Holly with a determined nod, boring her gaze into Chris, not letting him escape.

"She's avoiding you," Chris nodded with a chuckle and a smile as he turned briefly to retrieve his beer from the counter. When he turned back Holly's gaze was just as steady as before, zeroed into the whites of his eyes, with the addition of a quirked eyebrow. Chris swallowed, raising his hands in defense, "_I'm_ not avoiding you," he joked. Holly's expression softened, Chris really was a loyal friend. "It's not my place," he told her, more quietly, softer; honest. "It's just not my place," he said with a shrug and a wink. "Hey, but look on the bright side," he raised his palm toward her, his eyes going wide with revelation, "at least she hasn't punch _you_ tonight," he moved his shoulder around in the socket, wondering if it would bruise.

Holly let him off the hook with a chuckle, sort of. "So _Chris_," she decided to change the subject for his sake, her eyes went steely, "you and Gail are really powering through Grey's Anatomy, huh?"

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><p>At least another hour had gone by and Holly was chatting at one of the hightop tables with Traci and Andy. They started off talking about a case that had come their way a few days ago. Andy and her rookie had been called to an apartment building midmorning. Apparently a lot of the tenants had been complaining about constant loud noises, an alarm clock, or a television, or maybe both, coming from one of the apartments. When the landlord had gone to check the chain was up across the door, so he called the police. Upon entering the apartment Andy and her partner discovered a body, and immediately called Traci and the forensics team. Before the end of the day the case had been removed from Traci's plate by the Security Intelligence Service with little to no explanation. Holly had already completed the preliminary autopsy before a bunch of suits wheeled him out of her office, thrusting a large stack of paperwork denoting the change in custody at her to sign. Their conversation had started with Holly telling Andy and Traci about what had likely happened to the man, but now they were talking about Andy's chances of convincing Sam to get on a transatlantic flight. Traci could see Gail approaching them out of the corner of her eye. It didn't take more than her peripheral vision for Traci to see Gail was drunk as a skunk.<p>

"Hi," Gail smiled sweetly as she fell into Holly's arms. Well, it was more of a poorly planned lunge, causing Holly to reach out to steady, an obviously uncoordinated, Gail. It looked as though she had tried to smoothly slide her drink onto the hightop table before leaning against it, but that the lack of coordination made it more of a stumble and lurch. At least the glass made it safely to the table, saved from shattering on the floor, especially since it seemed entirely likely that Gail was in danger of taking up residence on the polished wood at any moment.

Holly kept her hands on Gail's waist to help steady her. "You're _drunk_," Holly had to stifle a laugh. Gail seemed to be the epitome of the 'happy' drunk. Her face didn't show a care in the world, her eyes were blissfully cloudy, her smile shy but loving, her cheeks flushed red. Andy and Traci looked on with wide eyes. Gail was positively loopy. She could hold her liquor, that was for sure, and she was usually able to keep her poker face on longer than would be expected. Apparently not tonight.

"You're smart," Gail slurred it out dreamily as her head fell to one side, her hands resting on Holly's biceps.

"Thanks, Gail," Holly nodded slightly, peeking a glance over at Traci and Andy to confirm she wasn't the only witness to this bizarre encounter.

"You're _really_ smart, and beautiful," she slurred her words with a combination of bliss and yearning, "and weird, and kind, and u-," Gail paused, searching for the word, "u-unique, and I love you," with that Gail slid her hands up to the tops of Holly's shoulders and let her head fall onto the skin exposed by Holly's v-neck shirt. Her hands were heavy at the top of Holly's neck, her body weighing down to the floor.

"I love you too," Holly rubbed up and down Gail's back, slowly and cautiously, looking over Gail's head to Andy and Traci, wondering exactly what was going on. Andy and Traci stood at even points around the small table. They held their glasses up, taking sips from the skinny straws without taking their eyes off of Gail. Traci was contemplating taking her phone out and videoing how adorably sloppy Gail was, she wondered if she could get away with it.

"I know," Gail answered simply with a sigh. "This is the most comfortable place in the whole world," she mumbled into Holly's chest, closing her eyes sleepily.

Traci and Andy's smiles grew as Holly's embarrassment increased; they thought it was actually really cute, especially considering it was Gail.

"I think I need to lie down," Gail announced calmly, childlike.

"That's probably not a bad idea," Holly continued rubbing at Gail's back, her eyes darting around the room, curious as to how much attention Gail was drawing, and if anyone had an explanation to offer her.

"Can we go home?" Gail's eyes were still closed and the side of her face was still pressed to Holly's chest. "I mean, _you_ have a home, and _I_ have a home, _separate_ homes, which is sort of lame. Can we leave?"

Holly smiled up into her left cheek, "yeah, we can go," she patted Gail's lower back lightly, indicating that if Gail actually wanted to leave she'd have to let Holly go.

Gail leaned back quickly, and sharply, the expression on her face shifted instantaneously from blissfully content to intense distress. Her eyes went wide as her body froze with fear, once again gripping at Holly's biceps. "I think I might be sick," she announced, clearly horrified and startled by the prospect. Gail hates throwing up and she prides herself in being able to hold her liquor. People don't need to hold her hair back while she pukes into a toilet, mumbling an apology, and proclaiming her undying love for Advil; she's Gail Peck.

"That's okay," Holly tried to sound calm and caring, even as she took a slight step back from Gail, keeping their arms connected but putting more distance between Gail and her boots. "Where's your stuff?" Holly looked around the bar, unsure of where Gail had dumped her jacket and bag.

"Oh, it's over there," Andy jolted to life, scurrying off to the table they had left their belongings at when they arrived form the station. Sam, Oliver, Noelle, and Celery were over there now yakking it up.

Traci set her glass down on the table, taking two long strides over to Gail's side, the mom in her shining through, "why don't I take you outside?" Traci definitely sounded amused as she guided Gail around by the shoulders, through the crowd and out the door.

Holly let out a relieved breath, glad that, at least for the moment, her shoes weren't about to be covered in vomit. She made her way over to the coat rack and threw her jacket around her shoulders, checking the pocket for her keys.

"I think this is all of it."

Holly turned around to find Andy holding out Gail's green tweed jacket and black leather bag, an apologetic smile displayed on her lips.

"Thanks," Holly said with a sigh as she smiled back at Andy.

"Do you need anything else?" Andy asked as she twisted her face to one side, rocking back on her heels, bringing her hands out to the side and then dropping them back down to her thighs. She wasn't sure what else she had to offer but she wanted to help if she could.

"We'll be fine," Holly laughed it off, throwing Gail's bag over her shoulder, folding her jacket over her arm.

"Good luck," Andy said with a cringe, "call me if you need anything," she grazed Holly's forearm briefly as a way of apology.

"Yeah," Holly turned towards the door, "good luck tomorrow." Gail _was_ going to work tomorrow after all. Andy, and the rest of Fifteen were bound to be in for a very hungover and grumpy Gail come tomorrow morning. Holly pushed the door open, fishing her keys out of her pocket. Gail and Traci were standing by the passenger side of Holly's car. Gail's back was leaning up against the car, her head dropped, resting against the roof of the sedan. Traci stood next to Gail, her arms crossed over her stomach, slightly chilled by the fall night air. Holly unlocked the doors with the remote as she approached the car. Traci moved Gail to the side a bit so she could open the door before helping fold Gail inside. Holly threw Gail's bag and jacket onto the backseat and then opened the driver door. She paused with one elbow on the door and one on the roof to smile at Traci, "thanks, Traci."

"Anytime," Traci laughed, "plus, you can probably blame Steve's open tab."

They both laughed for a few breaths, there were probably going to be more than a couple hungover officers and detectives at Fifteen Division tomorrow.

"I mean most everyone who 'bought Gail a drink' didn't even really pay for it," Traci laughed, because that's what you do at these things right? Everyone feels as though they should buy the guest of honor a drink, even though, if everyone did that it would lead to certain death for the person you're supposed to be celebrating. Hamilton had, he clearly still felt guilty after the whole thing. But, who was going to turn down free drinks? Steve was probably going to grumble when he got the bill. "Call me if you need anything."

Holly nodded, "thanks, I think she'll be fine though."

Traci smiled her goodbye, and rapped her knuckles on the passenger side window as Holly sank into the car.

Gail startled at the noise, turning her head over to shoot Traci a glare. "Goodnight, Gail," Traci smiled and waved as she headed back into The Penny.

Holly started the car, flicking the switch to roll down the passenger window with her left hand as she twisted her neck to look at Gail, slumped over in the passenger seat. "Hey, you okay?" Holly brushed a few stray hairs out of Gail's eyes.

Gail's eyes fluttered open, droopily sad, "I feel sick," she admitted lamely, regretfully.

"Sorry, babe," Holly continued stroking Gail's hair behind her ear.

"That feels good," Gail turned into Holly's palm, letting her eyelids droop closed, "I like that," she reaffirmed in a sleepy voice.

"Do you want to go to your place, or mine?" Holly asked softly, resting her head against the headrest. Holly had noticed the time on the dashboard. It wasn't even actually that late, maybe for a weeknight, sure, but it was barely ten thirty. That was good.

"Your's has two toilets," Gail answered frankly, probably smartly. "And no Chloe," she added. That high, chipper voice was not going to welcome in the morning.

_"You, you enchant me even when you're not around. If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down. I'm latching on, babe, now I know what I have found"_

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><p>- <em>Sam Smith "Latch"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you...enjoyed? this chapter. Leave a review or check out my tumblr ybmojfics dot tumblr dot com. The link is in my author's profile. Gail's hangover coming your way relatively soon ;)**


	25. Chapter 25: Harder Than it Has to Be

**A/N: You're fabulous! Thanks for all the views/reviews/follows/favs etc! I love it.**

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><p><em>"All the broken hearts in the world still beat, let's not make it harder than it has to be"<em>

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><p>"Mom called," Steve slurped his soup loudly, hunched over the bowl, gripping it with his left hand, wielding the spoon with his right. Gail was his mirror image, leaned over her bowl, spoon to her lips. The restaurant was crowded, Friday dinner after all, but somehow they'd been blessed with a booth for four at the back. Steve and Gail both plopped themselves in the very middle of the bench, no need to squish even though the restaurant was nearly at capacity. Gail raised an eyebrow; she needed more information before this was deemed worthy conversation. Steve took the hint and continued, "to see how you're doing being back." He cocked his head to the side as he pinned one of the floating wontons with the thick plastic spoon, cutting it in half.<p>

Gail rolled her eyes. Of course that was her mother's way. She'd probably call the morning of Gail's first day off with some silly excuse before masterfully demanding to know how Gail's first week back had been. Of course she'd try and gather intel from Steve, and probably Frank, before then. If it wasn't her mother Gail might let herself see the kindness in it, at first just pretending like it was any other work week, letting Gail get her feet under her before hounding her. No one else had, that's for sure. Her dad had texted her that morning in his old man abbreviations asking 'how was #1 day back?' After she responded, telling him it was dull but fine, he replied with 'Hav a good day 2 day! :)' and although it reminded her of something he would say to her when she was in the second grade, she couldn't help but smile for a second before laughing too loud at his texting vocabulary. But it was her mom, so Gail focussed on the fact that she called in her not-so-confidential informants Steve and Frank, instead of just picking up the phone, spying really. She was always glad for a delay in her mom's phone calls, but that's beside the point. "What'd you tell her?" Gail said it accusingly, as if Steve might actually say something to get her in trouble. She knew he never would, but she'd never say that, it was their silent bond and promise.

"Obviously that I spent hundreds of dollars getting you, and the entire division, wasted last night, and that the trash cans in the men's rooms were full of half the liquor I paid for," Steve rested the spoon in his empty bowl, leaning back into the booth as he reached across the table for another spring roll.

Gail slurped at another spoonful, glaring at Steve through the steam.

He shrugged, "I told her desk duty was desk duty and you're finding it _thrilling_."

Gail's blinks were enough of an acceptance for Steve so he moved on after swallowing the rest of the spring roll.

"Well, just for the record, I do have an amazing couch if you wanna be roomies again," Steve put on a mockingly serious tween tone, "or we could look for a place of our own, ya know, two bedrooms, wine cooler, balcony, separate shower and tub," Steve reached out and touched Gail's arm as he listed the possibilities, faking an enchanted excitement, "ya know, stay up all night painting our nails and reading Teen Vogue, eating plain popcorn, and drinking wine coolers."

Gail flicked his hand away. "What?" She asked cooly.

"Ya know, since Dov and Chloe are shacking up and you don't have the balls to ask Holly to move in with you," he reached for his glass of water, taking a sip while Gail burned holes in his skull with her stare. He said it like it was nothing. Like he had mentioned the temperature outside.

Gail leaned back, pushing her now empty soup bowl away, "says who?" She spat the words at him before taking a sip from her own water glass. They had only just finished their appetizers and soup and the waiter had already refilled her glass four times.

"Says wasted you to only buzzed me, last night."

Gail slammed her head into the back of cushioned booth and closed her eyes, letting out a low growl. She didn't remember having that conversation with him until he mentioned it. That is, if you could call it a conversation.

"You should just ask her," he said, dropping the act with a shrug, "she'll probably say yes." Since Gail hadn't clamped her hands over her ears while running screaming from the restaurant, Steve took the opportunity to continue. "She's not gonna kick you out in a few months like Diaz did," Steve swirled the handleless cup of tea before taking a sip, and then added, "if that's what you're worried about," because he _knew_ that's what she was worried about, and they might as well both know they're on the same page even if she wouldn't admit it. "But if she _does_, which she wouldn't, you can always stay at Casa Sir Steven until things blow over," he flourish his hand flamboyantly.

Gail snorted so he finished with a wink.

"So, how ya feelin'?" Steve wagged his eyebrows, a shit eating grin working it's way across his face. "Do you need to take Holly's car to get the interior detailed when we're done here?"

"_No_," Gail buried her head in her hands to try and hide her embarrassment, "thank _god_."

Steve laughed a hearty laugh and pulled his hands away from the table as the waiter placed his Kung Pao chicken in front of him.

"But, as you've noticed," Gail motioned to her water glass with her eyes, "sticking with water tonight." She waited for the waiter to finish laying out their meals and sides of fried rice, dumplings, and spare ribs before digging into her General Tso's chicken. They spent the rest of the meal chatting about the usual suspects, like how much longer until they were summoned to a family dinner, the consensus was _soon_. Even though it was just Thanksgiving, with Gail going back to work they both bet their mother would want to 'celebrate properly' relatively soon. Steve suggested they start brainstorming Christmas gifts for their parents, to which Gail ripped away the spare rib clenched in her teeth with a murderous edge. She admitted with a groan, "is it that time already?" which basically meant 'shit, you're right.' Christmas was still almost two months away but they both, admittedly (only to each other),were awful at coming up with gift ideas for their parents. At the end of that conversation Gail suspected they would have at least three 'shopping trips' ahead of them, which would just end in drinks or a meal and zero shopping bags.

When the waiter placed two fortune cookies and the bill on the table Steve grabbed a fortune cookie and pushed the pleather envelope over to Gail's side of the table. "You're joking," Gail deadpanned, dropping her head to one side. She had just settled into her post at the front desk that morning, armed with gatorade, water, and coffee, when Steve swung by, a smug smile on his face. Gail had rolled her eyes and swatted at his arm when he informed her that, even though it was his turn to pay for dinner, after last night she'd be picking up the tab for their meal tonight. "Such a _brat_," she shook her head as she leaned down the booth to fetch her wallet from her bag. She wasn't about to tell him that it was actually a pretty good deal for her since they both stuck to water there wasn't any alcohol to drive the bill up. She'd order an extra drink next time and he'd clearly have the short end of the stick.

"So, are you gonna ask her?" Steve asked as he cracked open his fortune cookie, pulling the paper ribbon out of it's shell.

"Am I gonna ask who, what?" Gail replied absentmindedly as she opening her wallet, pulling out her credit card and shoving it into the little pocket in the black envelope.

"Ask Holly to move in with you, duh," Steve tossed half of the cookie into his mouth.

She ignored him, slapping the leather closed and pushing it off to the edge of the table.

"It's not like it was with Collins, when he asked," Steve added, still chewing the cookie. "If that's what you're worried about," because it was, well, sort of. It definitely made her a little gun shy. "That was fucked up," he added as clarification. "Holly's in love with you."

Gail stared him down as she popped open the plastic wrapping of her own fortune cookie.

"And you wanna know the _strangest_ part?" Steve contorted his face to accentuate the weirdness of what he was about to say. Gail knew he was going to keep talking, and she couldn't leave, the waiter had her credit card, so she waited for him to continue. And continue he did, "not only does she love you, but she actually genuinely _likes _you for the perfect Peck that you are."

Gail cracked her fortune cookie open, stuffing half in her mouth, not bothering to look at the fortune.

Steve placed his palm over his chest, "we're not really everyone's cup of tea ya know, the two of us."

"Speak for yourself," Gail laughed as she pushed the second half of her cookie into her mouth more slowly this time. They both knew he was right. The Pecks were an acquired taste, tolerable to a select, possibly deranged, few.

Steve stretched his fortune between his hands, clearing his throat dramatically, and furrowed his brow before he read it out loud, "competence like yours is underrated," Steve put on a self satisfied smile. "What'd you get?"

Gail pulled her's off the table, reading it through twice before sharing, "sloth makes all things difficult; industry all easy," she squinted, "'sloth makes all things difficult; industry all easy?' That makes _no_ sense," she tossed her's back onto the table, visibly disappointed.

"Well," Steve raised an eyebrow, waving his fortune in the air, "everyone knows that there's always one true fortune at a meal, and it's clearly not your's, competence like mine is underrated."

Gail smiled snarkily at him, "we'll aren't you lucky." She grabbed the envelope the waiter had returned to the table and quickly scratched down a tip and total, signing the bottom of the slip noisily.

"Better take some of my competent advice." Steve winked as he slid out of the booth, dragging his suit jacket after him.

"Sorry," Gail grabbed her bag off the booth, "but unlike you I don't actually _need_ prescription strength deodorant." Gail turned and started to make her way through the sea of tables to the door.

Steve shook his head, following after her. "You want a ride?" He asked, pulling his keys out of his pocket. He knew that Traci had given Gail a ride to work that morning, and the two of them had gone from Fifteen straight to dinner in his car.

Gail looked up and down the street as the door swung closed behind them. "Um," she buttoned her jacket and tossed her bag over her shoulder, "I think I'll just walk."

"Right," Steve laughed, shaking his head.

"I'm being serious," Gail poked him in the chest and then started making her way down the sidewalk, in the opposite direction as his car.

"_Okay_," he called out, still skeptical.

She turned to call back at him, "you drive like a maniac and my stomach is sensitive today."

"Have fun tomorrow," Steve waved, referring to her Saturday shift on desk. He had the weekend off.

Gail kept walking but raised her hand to give him the middle finger over her shoulder.

"Don't forget our deal!" Steve pointed at her even though she was facing the other direction. They had agreed to dinner next Thursday, to which they were each supposed to bring five potential gift ideas for their parents.

She flicked her hand up, casually signaling that he didn't need to remind her, and it was lame of him to bring it up. They both knew they'd spend next Thursday intermittently coming up with only borderline acceptable gifts. By dinnertime they'd each have about two that could pass a sniff test.

Steve chuckled as he turned and made his way to his car. He'd text her something mean later to make sure she got home okay, possibly get her back for the deodorant jab.

Gail adjusted her bag on her shoulder, and crossed her arms over her stomach as she looked left and right, crossing the street even though the orange palm was illuminated instead of the walk signal. Her head still hurt a little but it wasn't anywhere near the vice like pressure of this morning. She still felt yucky, for lack of a better word. She had showered this morning, and after shift even though all she had done was man the desk, but she still felt an indescribable grossness. Maybe it was as she suspected, and she was sweating whiskey. The fresh air felt nice though. Nicer than the station, and nicer than the thick restaurant air. Fresher than the leather and lingering new car smell trapped in Steve's Infiniti. Sunset was getting earlier and earlier. It had gotten dark while Gail and Steve were eating, but the air still had a glow about it. Daylight had gone, but the black of night had yet to fall, and Gail kept walking.

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><p><em>"All the broken hearts in the world still beat, let's not make it harder than it has to be"<br>_- _Ingrid Michaelson "Girls Chase Boys"_

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><p><strong>AN: Those are real fortunes...yikes.  
>Next chapter picks up right where this one leaves off, and you'll get more of Gail's unpleasant morningbonding time with Holly's toilet.**


	26. Chapter 26: No Diamond Rings

**A/N: "Stranger", I'm forever apologetic, but here's the next chapter. Thanks for hanging in there guys!**

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><p><em>"She don't ask for no diamond rings, no delicate string of pearls"<em>

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><p>She looked across the street, up at the building, rolled her eyes, and shuffled around the block again. What a <em>dunce<em>. Gail was extra careful not to make eye contact with the panhandler on the corner of King and Simcoe; he _must_ have noticed that she passed by four times in the last twenty minutes. Why was she being such a _loser_? Let's blame Steve, why don't we? He's the one who had to act like he was some sort of big brother advice vending machine; Mr. Competence-like-mine-is-underrated. Steve was such a brat. Did he think he was a shrink or something? That man-boy couldn't even come up with a decent Christmas gift for his own parents. Gail wracked her brain for an idea just to spite him. They got their mom a day at the spa last year. What's like a day at the spa but _isn't_ a day at the spa?

Yet, once again, Gail found herself staring up Holly's building. Some of the windows glowed with light, while others were a closed off sheet of black. She let out a long puff of air as she sighed. Gail gritted her teeth in determination. _Fuck Steve_. She crossed the street and swung the door open, waving briefly at the doorman as she breezed past.

Gail knocked on the door and, for a second, her knuckles on the wood were louder than the voice in her head. She drummed her fingers on the trim around the doorway while she waited. Finally the door swung open to reveal a smiling Holly.

"Hey," Holly turned back towards the kitchen, assuming Gail would follow her, "how was dinner with Steve? Bring me anything?" Holly knew full well that Gail and Steve always finished what they ordered, even if it took them all night.

"It was good," Gail answered truthfully, leaning up against the door jam. _Not even a kiss on the cheek, that couldn't be good_.

"Hey, how come you didn't just use your key?" Holly spun around when it became clear Gail wasn't following her. "I had to get up and walk like twenty full feet to answer the door."

"You love exercise," Gail dropped her head to the side, resting it against the doorjamb. "Come on," she righted her head again before nodding back towards the hallway, "we're going for a walk." Gail pushed herself upright, preparing to leave.

"We are, are we?" Holly walked back to the breakfast bar and picked up a plate that was resting on the granite countertop, leaning her butt against the bar stool.

"Yes," Gail answered firmly but without snark.

The corner of Holly's lips quirked up for a second, "do I have any say in the matter?"

Gail shifted her face, pretending to weigh the question, "not really."

"Well, do I at least get to finish my dinner first?" Holly raised her eyebrows as she bit into a piece of toast slathered with peanut butter, topped off with slices of banana.

"That's a lame dinner," Gail declared, chastising. She hated cooking, but was excellent at ordering in.

"Who asked you?" Holly settled onto the stool more permanently, her feet lifting off the floor. "It's more of a supper though, I suppose. I had a late lunch."

Gail dumped her bag on the floor and explained, "I really have to pee," as she hurried off to the bathroom. She did have to pee, extremely badly, actually. Gail had spent all day hydrating. It was really the only way to actually battle a hangover, she found. She wasn't one of those weird, water bottle freaks, toting their Nalgenes everywhere they went, Holly was sort of like that, but today was another story. Gail must have drunk a gallon and a half of water by the end of her shift. The waiter filled her glass upwards of nine times over the course of her dinner with Steve. Granted, there was ice in the cup, and the glass was never completely empty when the waiter came round, but still. Gail hadn't been paying attention to the time, but she figured she'd been walking around for probably close to an hour, and well, she _really_ had to pee.

"You're not done yet?" Gail returned to her perch by the door, clearly displeased with the amount of progress Holly had made during her absence.

Holly swallowed, returning the mostly empty glass of milk to the counter, "if you'd like, I can eat more slowly."

"That's what she said," Gail replied cockily.

Holly bounced her eyebrows, taking the final bite of her toast, chewing at less than half her normal speed.

"You're doing that on purpose," Gail crossed her arms like a frustrated child.

Holly wiped at her mouth with a napkin, "yeah, I generally do like to chew my food before swallowing. You should try it sometime."

"Overrated."

Holly savored her last few sips of milk, curious as to why Gail was so anxious to get going. After last night Holly fully expected Gail to flop down on the couch and fall straight to sleep. Gail wasn't a 'walker', and if she was she had kept it a closely guarded secret. Holly rose from her seat and brought her plate and glass around and into the kitchen. They got a quick rinse before being loaded into the dishwasher. Holly gave Gail's nose a poke on her way to her bedroom. She wasn't going to complain; she liked walking, especially when it was nice out.

"Where are you _going_?" Gail whined.

"Socks!" Holly called out, wiggling one bare foot as she walked away.

Gail huffed. That was valid, but her impatience could only increase.

A few moments later Holly slid down the hardwood floors on her newly sock clad feet. She planted one hand on the wall as she shimmied her boots on, pressing the soles, without stomping, into the floor. "Okay!" She whipped her head up with a smile, snagging her keys off their hook and smiling, "let's go."

Gail reached behind her back for the doorknob but gave Holly a look. "It's getting cold out," she spoke almost as if it was an accusation, as if Holly should be taking some ownership for kickstarting winter's slow, but apparent, decent unto the city. Holly scrunched her nose, miffed, and cocked her head to the side until Gail nodded to the row of Holly's jackets, neatly hung up on wooden pegs. Gail was telling her to put on a coat so she didn't get cold; how rude, yet caring.

Holly smirked, spinning on her toes to peruse her options. She plucked her deep turquoise down jacket off it's hook, pulling her arms through. It was pretty lightweight and slim, for a down coat at least, which made it really nice for a range of temperatures, from barely chilly to nearly freezing.

Gail rolled her eyes but bit her tongue. _Such a nerd_.

Holly noticed. "I don't understand what you have against this jacket," she laughed, "I love it!"

Gail took a few steps forward. "More than you love me?"

"Well I've had this jacket longer than I've had you."

Gail glared at Holly before clutching both sides of the front of the jacket and pulling Holly down for a kiss. For a split second Holly wondered why Gail wasn't yanking her out the door, but that thought quickly vanished. Gail's lips were soft and sweet, almost feather light. It wasn't a needy, or hungry, or wanting kiss, and Holly got lost in it instantly. Eventually Gail pulled away, one second her lips where there, so light that even though she eased out of it, they were suddenly gone. She smiled bashfully, dropping her attention, and her hands, to the bottom hem of Holly's jacket. She brought the metal tip from the left side into the zipper and pulled up, stopping when the tiny plastic teeth had woven together up to Holly's sternum. Her left hand was still holding onto the bottom hem of the jacket and she hooked her finger in, turning on her heels and pulling the jacket, and in turn Holly, towards the door. "Let's go," she proclaimed, swinging the door to the hallway open.

Gail leaned against the wall as they waited for the elevator, her eyes staring blankly at the floor. "I'm sorry," she said in a small voice. Gail hated apologizing. Mostly because it meant exposition; opening herself up and admitting her mistakes. She demands nothing but the best from herself, and an apology is acknowledgement of failure. You can't get much more naked than an apology. She brought her eyes up to meet Holly's, "about last night. I was a mess. I was a _super_ embarrassing mess." Gail slapped her hand onto her forehead, massaging her temples with her thumb and middle finger. She flashed back to that morning. Holly had woken her up so sweetly, stroking her hair and whispering her name. The first thing Gail had seen when she reluctantly opened her eyes was the 'breakfast' Holly had set down on the nightstand for her. A cup of hot coffee, a _tall_ glass of water with three ice cubes, a piece of toast with peanut butter, and three Advil laying next to the water glass. Just the simple act of creaking her eyes open was like getting whacked in the temple with a tire iron. Holly had kept her voice quiet and gentle, saying she was going to court but that Traci had called and was picking Gail up for work in twenty-five minutes. _What a loser_. Were people her age even supposed to get hungover? Was what used to be a badge of honor now a mark of shame? She definitely felt ashamed. Was she supposed to hold off on getting hungover until she was a pearls wearing soccer mom getting drunk off wine and boredom? 'Thirsty Thursday' was definitely something she was supposed to have left in the past, wasn't it?

"It's okay," Holly almost laughed as they stepped into the elevator.

"No it's not," Gail protested. "I'm not some eighteen year old sorority girl, and you're not my mom, or my nanny."

This time Holly did laugh. She could only imagine what would happen if Gail stumbled home, completely trashed, to Elaine Peck.

"You're too classy and sophisticated to be holding my hair back while I spill it all into a toilet bowl." Gail was agitated, agitated at herself for being such a waste case, agitated at herself for being _such_ a coward. She talked to Holly; Holly talked to her, about..._things_...so why was she being so inept?

"But I didn't hold your hair back," Holly leaned into the wall of the elevator, "you were very self sufficient once we got back."

Gail winced at the smirk that played across Holly's lips, "what do you mean?" She almost didn't want to know. She remembered the car ride and staring out the window so she would feel less sick. She vaguely remembered making the trek from Holly's car to the door of her apartment, and then she remembered being in bed, and how very comfortable it was.

"Well, you threw your hair up into a bun on your way out of the elevator, and then locked yourself in the bathroom for ten minutes."

Gail closed her eyes and some of it came back to her. Like gargling with mouth wash three times after flushing the toilet, _before_ brining her toothbrush anywhere near her mouth.

"I can't really complain," Holly shrugged as Gail peeled her eyes open, "it's not like you left anything for me to clean up."

Gail groaned, dropping her head back against the elevator wall, "I'm the _worst_." Her headache had dulled throughout the day, soothed by the influx of water, and muted by the repetitive infusion of ibuprofen, but the contact with the wall hurt more than it usually would. Gail figured she deserved it.

"Actually," Holly countered as the elevator dinged, depositing them in the lobby, "Evan's best friend called me the first time he got drunk." Holly held the door open as the night swallowed them up from the bright lobby. "I was home for the summer from University. He puked _all_ over the backseat of dad's car, and yours truly had to clean it up before dad had to leave for work the next morning. Also have you _seen_ my brother? He's _huge_. He's taller now, but a droopy, drunk, six foot teenage boy is seriously hard to lug around. You're much daintier, way more manageable."

"Doesn't matter," Gail crossed her arms over her stomach as they paused, waiting to cross the street, "I'm not your little sister."

"Fine, now you owe me," Holly jumped forward into the crosswalk as soon as the signal flashed, "and I plan on getting super drunk at my aunt's _horrid_ Christmas party, and they're an hour away."

"Deal," Gail agreed quickly, "actually, I'll be your DD for _every_ stupid Christmas party, so long as you don't judge me for bringing a flask to _Elaine's_ party." Gail shuddered at the thought.

Holly tried to cover up her snort, nodding her understanding. She could imagine that Gail's mom's Christmas party would likely be a summation of everything Gail detested about being 'A Peck.'

They walked on a for a few blocks until Holly's curiosity started to get the better of her. "Just for the record, I'm not entirely convinced you're not planning on burying me in some remote bushes."

Gail snorted. This would be the worst murder plan _ever_.

"I just want to know because if peanut butter and banana on toast is about to be my last meal I'd really like to remedy the situation. You could do me the decency of stopping for a milkshake and fries or something."

"You wish," Gail shook her head as she led them up the block, across the street, to the left, and into the the park.

Often times they found themselves in a content silence. Gail wasn't someone to talk for the sake of making noise, and she quickly learned, during their first day at the lab together, that Holly wasn't either. It had been weird, almost unnerving, how she found herself randomly piping up with unnecessary jabber. Gail often used silence as a weapon, sensing when it made someone uncomfortable, and using it to her advantage. It was almost immediately apparent that morning that the silence was actually Holly's friend. She would have been perfectly content to go about her work in peace; she had the bones and the thoughts they stirred in her mind to fill the silence. Maybe that's why Gail found herself asking Holly question after question, when normally she would have been happy to catch an eyes-open nap on the stool in the corner. Gail always wondered what the big deal about 'running out of things to say' was. When you've said all you have to say, shared all your harebrained opinions and loathings, completely told your story, and someone actually still _wants_ to be around you, somehow cares about you even more; well that sounds like it would be really special. Some people seem to think talking, in and of itself, is a fun activity, but Gail's glad Holly isn't one of those people. Holly's too smart to blabber on uselessly. Although, Gail figured Holly could probably blabber on endlessly, if she wanted to, without it being useless.

Holly sensed, she felt, that this wasn't one of _those_ silences though. It wasn't a peaceful silence, no matter how quiet it was. Her glances at Gail revealed a tense face, a twitchy demeanor. Certainly no one would describe Gail as a 'chill' person, but Holly saw her current state as unusual. Sure, Gail was obviously embarrassed by the previous night, but that was likely to cause more self depreciation than uneasiness.

Holly strained her eyes to the right, trying to slyly size the blonde up. She seemed rather engrossed in chewing on her bottom lip, and her brow was knitted in concentration. Or was it worry? Or concern? Maybe it was confusion.

Holly waited until they passed another bench for another glance. Gail's mouth opened and closed slightly a few times, as if she was preparing to speak but then decided against it.

Holly stamped down a smirk as she stopped walking, "Gail."

Gail winced, a few steps ahead of Holly, "yeah?" She stopped and turned slowly on her heels, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Do you want to move in together?" Holly's voice was vulnerable, inquisitive and slightly self satisfied. She'd smugly put all the pieces together; didn't take a genius though. "Is that why you've been acting weird? Asking me if I want 'crab rangoon', and to 'go inside', like I might burst into flames? And why you avoided me last night?"

Gail blinked, her mouth hanging slightly open. Damn, Holly was good. She'd been found out. Although, she probably had been rather obvious about it. It didn't take a genius, even though Holly was one. "You noticed that huh?" Gail dug the tip of her boot into the ground, exactly where she wanted to bury her face just about then.

"I want you to move in with me," Holly decided to take another route, her voice more determined now. "Do you want to move in with me?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest, scratching behind her ear with her left hand.

Gail's eye's shot up, "wait," she shook off the question, with her head, and with another question. "_You_? Want to live with _me_?" Gail pointed at her chest disbelievingly, as if it was a preposterous idea.

Holly cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow, that was the general point of living with someone, right?

Gail continued on, sounding even more confused and slightly accusatory, "with _me_? Even though I don't cook, don't clean, don't put my clothes in the hamper, don't fold my laundry;" Gail's hands were out at her sides, whisking in the night air, "rarely _do _my laundry, actually; don't replace the empty toilet paper roll, kill plants, and come home from work at all hours of the night and day?"

Holly raised both her eyebrows, none of those tidbits were news to her.

"I also _leave_ for work at all hours of the night and day," Gail added, toeing the gravel with her boot again.

"So that's a 'no'?" Holly leaned back a bit after her challenge, uncrossing her arms and sticking her hands into her pockets. She knew that wasn't the point of Gail's ramble, but she wasn't going to let her off easy.

"What? That's not what I said," Gail shook her head, "I asked you a question." Her words pinned Holly, her tone demanding an answer.

"I asked you one first," Holly smiled at how flustered Gail seemed to be getting. It was fairly dark, even on the lit pathway, but she could see the color rising in Gail's cheeks as her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, my response was a question, so you have to answer, so I can answer," Gail said it simply, like she was announcing the rules to a simple card game that everyone should know. Holly needed to play along.

"Fine. I thought my question, and statement, made it _obvious," _Holly would follow the conventions Gail had invented for this conversation, but not without a little teasing, "but yes, Gail, I want to live with you, for real."

"Oh." Gail deflated, but it wasn't from disappointment. It was relief blended with surprise. Gail was gearing up her best defenses, ready to deny what she really wanted, ready to play it cool, downplaying her true feelings, so that when the inevitable happened it wouldn't hurt so much, or at least the disappointment and rejection wouldn't be broadcast on her face. She was disarming.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to actually live with you," Holly couldn't help but let a chuckle escape.

Gail huffed, crossing her arms; Holly was laughing at her. "I know that." Her voiced echoed a younger version of itself that had spoken up every time Steve had asserted his seniority, contradicting something she had said with some newly acquired factoid that made her feel small and out of her depth; defensive.

"Your turn."

Gail's mouth did the fish thing again, opening and closing without making any noise. Too many words were trying to squeeze out at once, creating a bottleneck none of them could surpass.

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><p><em>"She don't ask for no diamond rings, no delicate string of pearls"<em>  
>- <em>The City and Colour "The Girl"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Hate me. Hopefully I'll see you next time (which should be fairly soon).**


	27. Chapter 27: With Me

_"I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand? Oh, won't you stay with me? Cause you're all I need"_

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><p>Holly quirked an eyebrow, giving a mildly questioning look. She didn't want to push Gail, but she really didn't know what was going on. She was also aware there was a sizable possibility Gail was oblivious to the fact that she wasn't actually forming any words.<p>

Gail closed her mouth and worried on her bottom lip. She had a choice to make. Well, a few choices to make. Leave it to Holly to completely flip the script. Damn her big beautiful brain. Gail's eyes fell to her boots before darting up to a tree across the path. She supposed she could climb up a tree if she wanted; she could _literally _climb up a tree. There were trees everywhere. That probably wouldn't end well though. A master at climbing looming, figurative trees, Gail had never been better than awful at climbing the real thing. Steve wasn't exactly a natural either, but he wasn't afraid to get dirty or fall. He muscled through while Gail looked up longingly from the ground, pronouncing it a silly activity, unfit for anyone who had any sense or dignity. Also, any Peck who had an appropriate amount of fear of her mother. No, climbing an actual tree would be a very poor plan. Bones were bound to break, and clothes were bound to be ruined. Gail was wearing her favorite pair of jeans, and she secretly liked Holly's jacket, which she would no doubt have to use as tourniquet or splint or something. Literal trees were out. She could climb a figurative tree. She was good at that. It could come naturally if she let it. _No_. Gail brought her thumb around, just above the base of her index finger, and pulled down. The crack of her knuckle echoed into the night. The tension in her joint dissipated, and with it went some of her anxiety. Only some. No. She wasn't climbing trees anymore. She had promised herself and she had promised Holly and she was _loyal_. Holly would probably be able to call her out on it in a matter of seconds anyways. It would be worse than pointless.

Her eyes jumped to the streetlamp across the path. She could say yes, that of course she wants live with nice smelling Holly, in her nice smelling, jockstrap-less apartment. She could tell Holly that for the first twelve years of her life she would have readily offered up her first born for the chance to call Buckingham Palace 'home', but that now you couldn't pay her enough to go, unless Holly could come too.

Her eye's skirted around Holly's form before falling to the laces of her boots. They were the same boots she wore to the batting cages that night. Gail had thought it funny that a self respecting athlete like Holly would wear such unconventional footwear to _do sports_, but Gail realized now that the batting cages was probably a last minute plan, hatched mostly for her benefit. She could say no. Say that she really thought she needed to try living alone for a little while. Gail had never lived alone, going from her parents' house to dormitories, back to her parents house, to Chris and Dov's apartment, _back_ to her parents' house, and then to the apartment with Dov when Chris left for Timmons. The thought actually scared her to death, and it was only partly because of Ross Perik. No. No would be a lie. She could tell the truth though. She could tell Holly things.

Gail knew Holly's calm patience was fraying at the edges, and that she was doing her best to keep it intact, on the surface at least.

"I'm scared," Gail looked up at Holly with nervous eyes as she bit the inside of her cheek.

"You do remember the part where we agreed that _I'd_ be the one stranded on the toilet without a square to spare, right?"

Gail dropped her head to the side in frustration, fixing Holly with a pleading glare.

Holly smiled one of her calm, understanding smiles, "what are you afraid of?"

"How much your rent actually is," Gail crinkled her brow, knowing full well Holly wasn't going to buy it.

"You can't just look that up at work?" Holly almost laughed, she forced herself not to. As weird as Gail was being, Holly knew she was actually trying to say something.

"Come on," Gail grabbed Holly's hand and gently tugged her along, "we were walking so I wouldn't have to look at you." Gail affirmed her grip on Holly's hand and grabbed at the bottom of her bicep with her free hand while she tried to put the swirls in her head into words. They walked for a few silent moments before Gail spoke again. "I'm afraid...that you're only asking me because you're secretly in love with someone else, even if you don't know it, or after a while I'm going to fuck up and you're going to kick me out and I'll end up on Steve's couch, or worse, my parent's house."

"You lost me," Holly tried to sound receptive, even as her confusion shined through, "_what?_"

"I'm pretty sure Nick only asked me to move in with him as a way of avoiding how he felt about Andy. Thank _God_ I said no." She hadn't seen it then, that he was trying to force himself even further into a relationship with her as a way of trying to stamp down his feelings for Andy, when he was sure she would get back with Sam. She hadn't seen it then. Gail had thought that he was really in it, that he actually wanted to move forward. She thought it was a good thing. "And," she sucked in a breath as a woman jogged around them, dressed in bright neon spandex, "when Chris and I broke up I was living with him and Dov, and he basically kicked me out, and it was horrible." Gail closed her eyes, sucking in another breath, and remembered slinking back to her parents house when she resigned to the fact that she was, indeed, out in the cold, and not simply in the doghouse. It was awful, but the only saving grace was that she had never actually one hundred percent moved in. She had started staying there when Chris got out of the hospital. She sort of just never left. Her mom hadn't been a fan of Chris's, so Gail had avoided a large display of packing up her things in favor for a slow migration of clothes and toiletries. It had still been awful turning up back home, subjecting herself to her mother's prying questions, and her father's sad eyes that were laced with a bit of 'I saw this coming'. She's still not sure what was worse, going back, or being there when Nick left. Her mother had _never_ liked Nick, and she had never hidden it. Gail concluded that possibly the best thing about moving in with Dov was that she wasn't living under the same roof as her mother when things with Nick ended for good. She had cheated on Nick, and then things with them had ended. Dov felt as though Chris had left him for Timmons. It was like she and Dov had both been dumped.

As they kept walking Gail could see out of the corner of her eye that Holly had turned her head to examine her face, well, at least what she could see of it. Gail kept her eyes ahead though. "And I know you're not them, you're not them at all, you're very much _you_...but I'm scared you'll get sick of me and I'll mess it up and you'll kick me out. Or Something. And I was scared you'd say no..."

That last part wasn't really an issue now.

"I don't think I'd get sick of you so much as I'd get sick of finding cheesepuff powder everywhere."

Gail squeezed Holly's hand a little harder than would be considered friendly, and started walking sideways, pushing Holly towards a trashcan on the edge of the path.

"Hey!" Holly let out a laugh filled with surprise as she pushed against Gail, steering them back towards the right side of the path. Holly waited until her laughter died down so she could make her tone softer and more serious, "I don't think you'll mess it up."

"How can you be so sure?"

At that moment Gail wished that Holly's jacket was made of a different material, a material that pilled, a material that she could pick at.

"Well, for one, you told me. You could have not told me, but you did. You just have to keep talking to me." Holly let that sink in for a moment before posing a question of her own. "Do you want to mess it up?"

"No, I don't."

Gail's answer was quick and resolute, because she didn't, and she knew it.

"So, don't," Holly playfully nudged Gail's shoulder with her own, "I'm a catch, you know?" Holly's tone shifted again, from boasting to coyly confessional, "plus, I'm a little nervous too."

Gail scoffed, "why?" Holly was perfectly confident, whip smart. Holly wasn't just knowledgable, she was also wise.

"_Well_, you haven't said 'yes' yet." Holly elbowed Gail's side lightly. "But really, the last person-well, people-I lived with was my _parents_."

Gail narrowed her eyes and finally looked over at Holly, "that's a lie."

"Um, no it is _not_," Holly chuckled, "and bratty teenaged Summer was there. Once I started my residency I moved back home, I mean, it would have been such a waste to spend over half my paycheck on a shitty apartment where I'd rarely ever _be_."

"How financially responsibly of you." Gail thought her mother would be proud of such a conscious, smart decision. When Gail hung at home after she graduated University, and then the Academy, she was sure her mother saw it as lazy, freeloading. Even thought she was also _sure_ her mother was glad she was still at home, she seemed to look down at what she saw as a reasonless default. She saw it as Gail not moving out, not as Gail choosing to stay. You never really could win with Elaine Peck.

"Yeah, well, my mom cooked too, so...but then, when I got my fellowship, I treated myself."

"_Treated_ yourself?" Gail couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ya know," Holly smiled, slightly embarrassed, "found an apartment with a doorman and a deck, and _no_ roommates."

Gail swung their hands up and down swiftly, "so, what's the damage gonna be?"

"The 'damage?'" Holly relaxed her arm, allowing it to swing up and down at Gail's will.

"Ya know, since you _treated_ yourself with the doorman and the deck, so, what's the damage gonna be?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Holly whipped her head around to face Gail, a smirk playing on her lips, "are you just, asking because you want to know how much rent I pay?" Holly's eyebrows raised up in question, "or are you asking because you want to pay rent next month, 'cause you want to live with me?"

Gail rolled her eyes, "well _ideally _neither, but I suppose it would be pretty lame not to pay rent...that'd make you like, my sugar momma, or something equally creepy." Gail contorted her face in disgust.

"Uh _huh_," Holly almost laughed as she nodded along.

"Hey," Gail stopped walking and gave Holly's hand a tug, bringing her to a halt as well.

As she turned to look at Gail she could tell, just like that the bravado was put on hold; Gail's eyes became true and shy.

"I want to live with you, like _badly. _You have like, a _super _nice place, but if you two weren't a package deal, I'd choose you, easy."

"It doesn't really feel like home when you're not there," Holly's smile grew bigger as the blush spread high onto Gail's cheeks, and crept down to her neck. "Do you feel like you can look at me again?" Holly couldn't help but smirk, cocking her head in the direction that they came, "'cause it's getting later and colder, and I'd kinda like to head back now."

Gail poked at Holly's down jacket, tracing the valleys created by the stitching, "nerd cloak not keeping you warm enough?"

Holly didn't answer, she turned back towards her apartment, and pulled Gail along, "keeping me warm at night is _your_ job."

A proud smile blossomed on Gail's face, "so, now that I'm moving in _moving in_ are you going to do all my laundry?"

"Not a _chance_," Holly shook her head back and forth as she cackled at the thought.

Gail narrowed her eyes into the night, "challenge _accepted_."

"Speaking of _all _your _stuff_, need any help?" Holly thrust her hands into her pockets. It was starting to get pretty cold, and a wind was picking up.

Gail flipped up her collar in an attempt to keep her neck warmer, "you volunteering?"

"No," Holly shook her head with a laugh, "I'm volunteering my desperate-for-cash brother."

"Uh, so, speaking of your brother," Gail bit her lip and turned to look Holly in the eye; she didn't want her to get the wrong idea, "we're not telling my mom."

"We're not?" Holly was taken aback, but her face showed more puzzlement and curiosity than hurt.

"_Hell_ no. It has nothing to do with you, or me, or _us_," Gail stopped walking so that she could look at Holly properly. She didn't want to her to think it was like that, because it really was not. "But this is the first time in my _entire _life she won't know where I _live_. Seriously, you have like _no _idea," a childlike glee spread across Gail's face as she spoke, "I mean, if I did tell her she'd probably throw you a party, or send me off to a weeklong intensive finishing school class," her mother already did that once, actually. "She has _always_ been able to come knocking whenever she wanted, and she _has_. She's gonna lose her nuts," Gail bounced her eyebrows at the thought. Steve had actually done something similar when he first got his own apartment, but the contact information he had to give the department was a quick giveaway, and he had somehow managed to play it off as an oversight while he was 'caught up in the excitement of starting at Fifteen.' Maybe it wasn't just that, though, maybe she wanted to keep her mother at arms length from Holly, from _them,_ as much as she could. It's why she'd waited so long to introduce Holly to her parents. Of course, the whole 'I'm dating a woman now' _thing_ played a part in that too, but it had been more about keeping her mother away from Holly than about keeping Holly from her mother. The smug asshole that he was, Steve had done his detective work, probably thinking himself much slyer than he was, and had stuck his nose in it much sooner. He seemed to think he was some sort of charming. Elaine, however, had mastered the art of controlling from a distance, and Gail hadn't shared Holly with her for a _while_. Well, at least 'a while' in the world of Elaine Peck. Gail wasn't worried that her mother would be upset she was moving in with Holly, God knows she detested the apartment she shared with Dov. Nor was she worried her mother would chide her for moving too fast, or some canned mom-ism like that. No, Gail was much more worried that her mother would warn her not to screw it up. That she would plant that nagging seed that there was some part of Gail that should be hidden, and once exposed, the jig would be up. For now, she would just tell herself that it was only the guarantee of no surprise visits that she coveted.

Holly looked skeptical, "and how long do you think that's going to last?" Because _really_, Gail had said it before; her mother was _the_ police.

"Don't ruin my fantasy, _Holly_," Gail pulled them back down the path. She tried to push away all the reasons her mother _would_ be calling. The clock was ticking, and it was probably only a matter of days.

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><p><em>"I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand? Oh, won't you stay with me? Cause you're all I need"<br>- Sam Smith "Stay With Me"_


	28. Chapter 28: Vultures Hiding

**A/N: I swear this was going to be up sooner, but fair warning: I've never fired a gun, so this took longer than it was going to...  
><strong>**You're a cutie for waiting so long**

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><p><em>"How did they find me here? What do they want from me? All of these vultures hiding right outside my door. I hear them whispering"<em>

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><p>"Peck! Hamilton!" Frank's voice boomed across the bullpen as the officers filed out of the parade room.<p>

The stream of blue uniforms halted as heads quickly scanned the bullpen before landing on one of the subjects of Frank's inquiry. Officers finishing up the paperwork after their shift also popped their heads up from their computers and notebooks, looking around the room to gain a clue as what was going on.

Gail spun around, halting her trek to the front desk. It was a routine she was getting used to. Go to parade. Sometimes listen, sometimes not. Go to the front desk. Be awake and almost excited for about half an hour before zoning out. But today Frank was bracing himself on the railing, motioning for her and Officer Hamilton to join him in his office. They had finally scrounged up a suspect for a string of B&E's but were having trouble locating him, so Sam had led parade while Frank had been holed away in his office.

Frank turned and swung the door open, striding back into his glassed off room, when it was clear Gail and Hamilton head received his message. Gail made eye contact with Hamilton briefly as they walked from opposite ends of the bullpen towards the short staircase that lead to the Staff Sergeant's office. Hamilton looked downright horrified. His injuries had been very minimal, and he had been put back on active duty only a week after the crash. Now, his faced had visibly paled, and he looked around the room nervously as he made his way to the short staircase. Gail knew he probably thought they were in trouble, and the look she was giving him probably wasn't all that reassuring, but she'd _rather_ be in trouble than face what she suspected was coming.

Hamilton held the door open as Gail crossed the threshold. She tried to make her face as blank as possible out of respect for Frank, it wasn't his fault. She stopped behind one of the chairs that faced Frank's desk, resting her hands at the top of the chair back, plucking at the fabric with a fingernail.

"Have a seat," Frank leaned forward on his elbows, motioning to the two chairs. His voice was calm and hospitable; she already knew they weren't in trouble. It was something much worse. Gail didn't want to take a seat, she wanted to get this over with. She sat anyways, just like her mother taught her.

"It's good to have you both back," Frank started, "I just got off the phone with HQ and the department wants to thank, and celebrate, you for your service. You're both being awarded with a commendation for your work leading up to the rescue of Evangeline Porter, and the apprehension of her abductor."

Gail bit her lip. She could almost hear Hamilton's skin stretch as his smile struggled to stay on his face. She was less than pleased, more than peeved. Her mother had summoned her and Steve to Sunday dinner only three days ago. Surely Elaine had already known these plans in detail, yet she hadn't mentioned anything at all, setting Frank up to be the bearer, of what Gail was bound to see as bad news. Gail's grip on the armrests tightened as her pulse quickened.

"There's going to be a small ceremony on the eighteenth at city hall. Evangeline and her parents will be there, so only two reporters will be allowed in, but the big brass will be coming, and I think the mayor will be there as well. So!" Frank clasped his hands together as a smile broke out across his face, "dress blues! Look sharp. Be nice. Smile for the camera."

Great, the mayor. As if Gail didn't have enough reason to detest this ceremony as it is.

Looking across the desk Frank quickly became witness to an explicate study in contrast. Hamilton looked positively bubbly. His cheeks were flushed and he had on an expression similar to a winner on _The Price is Right_. If Gail hadn't already descended into her own black hole she would have pinched him already. Gail was looking the exact opposite. She was paler than usual, if that was possible, and her face was drawn down, close to blank. Not even a hint of a smile escaped. She shook her head tightly, Hamilton didn't know what he was in for.

"So, ah, good," Frank smiled and nodded at Hamilton, excusing him to go out on patrol. He waited until the door clicked shut behind Hamilton before he turned his attention back to Gail, a softer smile on his face, "Peck, how ya doing?" She had been back to work for a little over a week now, and the hint of romance desk duty was able to mask itself with had worn thin. She wanted back on the streets, maybe now more than ever.

"I'm good," she smiled briefly, "it's good to be back, but I'm ready to be off desk, no offense."

"Good, good," Frank nodded slowly, "that makes two of us. What's your doc say?"

"Nothing bad," Gail sighed, "he'll probably send me to the range early next week." She was more than a little tired of this whole 'recovery' thing. Her doctor and her physical therapist had told her that it would be somewhat slow going - at least slower than _she _would want it to go - and that she would 'feel better' before she actually _was _better. Holly had supported their outlook. Gail was tired of it, mostly because this whole thing had mostly amounted to a big pile of boredom.

"That's great," Frank smiled bigger, rubbing at his chin as he seemed to ponder what he was going to say next. Frank had watched both Steve and Gail come up through Fifteen as rookies. He noticed how differently they handled all that came along with the 'Peck' name. Frank knew that Gail was hyper aware of how it made others perceive her. He was far from oblivious, and had noticed the tension it created between her and some of the other rookies when they first started. He knew she had excellent potential as a police officer, but he also noticed she shied away from shining, so to speak. He guessed it was out of fear of what doubts would be cast on the authenticity of any accolades that may come her way. "You know this, the commendation, has nothing to do with your parents, or your name, right?"

"I know," Gail nodded, smiling slyly. Of course she knew anyone with half a brain who rescues an abducted child was bound to get recognized somehow. She knew it wasn't because of her brother, or her father, or her mother, or her godfather, or that her last name happened to be 'Peck.' It didn't, however, mean she felt she deserved it, or that it was as big a deal as it was made out to be. It was a public relations stunt. Good press for the department, and the city as a whole. It stretched out how long the story was in the news; it made people remember what a good thing had happened just a little while after they had forgotten. And Gail didn't want to be a part of it. She hated being the center of attention, and she hated it even more when the audience was larger than three people. But she also knew there was nothing she could do about it. She was along for the ride. Her dad had said it himself in the hospital, '_it's best to just ride the waves with this_.' Frank said a few more things and Gail forced a smile as she was excused, striding off to the desk, where, with her luck, nothing would get in the way of her mind replaying the conversation over and over, as dread built up inside her like a lead weight, slowing growing in size, anchoring her down into a dreary outlook.

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><p>Gail pushed the door open, sucking in a breath as she did. Her eyes darted around as she tried to keep her outward appearance calm and assured, yet casual. It was no biggie; she'd done this a million times or more, and today was no different. Gail signed in at the desk and engaged in minimal small talk with the officer stationed there as she did. Just as she had feared, she was unable to escape the 'haven't see you around in a while' comment that was really just a thinly veiled question. 'A while' was really closer to a month, and she was sure that Patrick knew exactly why he hadn't seen her in as long. She flashed a smile and threw a "you missed me" over her shoulder as she passed the desk and pushed the door open as he buzzed her through. Even with her ear protection on the sound was unescapable. Even though it was late on a Tuesday morning it was still busy. Police officers have random schedules and the range was almost always busy. Patrick had given her lane seven and she tried to approach it like she had been, for at least, the past ten years.<p>

Gail put her bag down like she always did, and started unloading her gun and ammunition, laying it out on the waist high bench like her father had taught her all those years ago. She tried to think back to the first time her dad had brought her to the range as she flicked the switch to call the target towards her. In a lot of ways her dad was the cool shade to her mother's sometimes burning rays. Gail taped the fresh target down to the backing, smoothing it down, checking that it was straight and true. She flipped the switch again, sending the freshly hung target away, humming along the track. She drummed her fingers along the bench as she waited, being splashed with an icy case of déjà vu. It was the same feeling she'd been chilled with when her dad took her for the first time; uneasiness, apprehension, fear of the unknown. Except this time she knew what _should_ happen. Gail was afraid of what _might_ happen that wasn't _supposed_ to happen. What if the recoil of the first shot sent her arm flying clear off, through the wall, and onto Patrick's desk? Okay, that was next to impossible. But you _never know_. If she couldn't shoot anymore, then she couldn't be a cop anymore. Not one that got to do anything remotely worth it, anyways. The thought made her sick. The target clicked into place, bringing her out of her tailspinning thoughts, and Gail decided to stretch her shoulder out a little more. It couldn't hurt, right? It wasn't a stall tactic; she was being cautious, smart.

Her dad hadn't just taught her how to fire a gun, he had taught her how to behave at the gun range. Gail thought through the steps as she did her safety check and loaded the ammunition into the magazine. Her father's voice echoed in her head, guiding her through the steps that had become second nature over a decade ago. The last time she had so much as looked at her gun was the morning of the accident. Frank had brought it, along with her duty belt and notebook, back to the station from the hospital, and it had stayed in it's small square locker for weeks.

_Enough dilly dallying_.

The first shot went off with a 'POP.' The noise was muffled by the earmuffs secured around her head, but she felt the kickback reverberate through her arms, down her back and legs. Surprisingly, though, it felt more familiar than she had feared, and relief washed over her. It felt normal, it felt right; just the way it had for nearly the past fifteen odd years. The closer she got to emptying the clip the more her anxiety washed away; tension and apprehension she didn't even know she'd been feeling melted away.

Gail let out a deep breath and took a step back before starting on loading another magazine. She smiled politely and nodded as the guy in the next lane grabbed his packed bag off the bench and waved goodbye. He looked vaguely familiar, he might work the same shift as her over at Twenty-Seven Division. She wasn't normally a 'smile and nod' person, but her father had stressed the etiquette of the gun range since before her first trip. Anyways, now there was less of an audience, and that couldn't be anything but good. Her aim had been less than it's best, and even though that was to be expected it wasn't something Gail was willing to accept.

Her father always told her that shooting was just like any other skill, and that no one could ever be perfect, but practice could make you very very good. Just like anything else, Gail wouldn't allow herself to be shy of excellent. She practiced religiously for years, and she still logged more hours at the range than most officers. Gail would never deny liking the upper hand carrying a gun gave her, but she was anything but trigger happy. Shooting a person, an animal, anything that was alive really, wasn't anything Gail ever wanted to do. She had been trained to if need be. She didn't _want _to though. Her parents had instilled a deep respect for firearms in her and Steve, always emphasizing the damage they could do to someone, yourself included, if handled carelessly or improperly. A Peck never took the possibilities guns opened up lightly. They never treated it as sport, but as responsibility. It wasn't a game, it was a skill. Maybe that's why Gail hadn't come nearly as close to peeing her pants as Dov had when they were issued their guns as rookies. She felt a little secondhand embarrassment when he asked Boyko if he could take his gun home at night. What was he going to do? Cuddle it?

Nevertheless, Gail had always felt a sense of calm at the shooting range. If the batting cages were cathartic for Holly, this was cathartic for Gail. It was a skill that could never be perfected. You could hit your target square on, maybe you could even do it a couple times in a row if you're really good, but _no_ _one_ could shoot for an hour and still be perfect. That's what Gail liked, instant feedback; practice rewarded with improvement. It didn't hurt that her mother had always been pleased when she heard Gail was going to the range to practice. All through her teenage years, ever since she was able to make plans for herself really, her mother would always come up with little nibbling comments, no matter whose house Gail announced she was off too. The gun range, apparently, was a perfect friend however. No matter what activity Gail told her mother she was out to do Elaine would undoubtedly click her tongue, showing her disapproval even if she allowed it. Not the gun range, though. Of course there were a few times Gail told her parents she was making Steve take her to the range when she really slinked off to the movies with her friends, or snuck over to her boyfriend Connor's house when his parents weren't home. But mostly she did go, and she liked it, and not just because it was an escape from her mother's hovering.

A couple more clips in, and Gail was feeling really good. Her aim was quickly improving, and it was all becoming more and more familiar. She was mid-shot when she noticed a figure glide into the vacated lane next door. She didn't bat an eye, just finished off her clip before setting her gun down to inspect her performance. It was when she turned slightly to reach for more ammunition that she noticed how familiar her new neighbor looked. Definitely more familiar than the guy who might have been from Twenty-Seven Division. Gail let herself look up at the person. Realization hit her like a lightning strike. She knew that strawberry blonde hair. She knew that twinkling half smirk. She owned those eyes; that nose sat above her own mouth. The occupant of lane six was none other than Elaine Peck. Of course.

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><p><em>"How did they find me here? What do they want from me? All of these vultures hiding right outside my door. I hear them whispering"<em>  
>- <em>John Mayer "Vultures"<em>

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><p><strong>AN: Sincerely, thank you to everyone who keeps on reading, reviewing. And to those of you are just hopping on the bandwagon, welcome!**

**I love those of you who leave me little notes and reviews! That being said...just a word to the wise, commenting and urging me to update doesn't actually make me go any faster :( I wish it did. If you'd like to know when you can expect an update/you're wondering if I've tripped over the mess that is my room and broken my neck, I'd be glad to let you know! But to get an answer you'll have to either P.M. me here, or send an ask on my tumblr. I'm really glad to let you know where I am with the next chapter, but leaving guest reviews on asking doesn't really give me an outlet to respond to you :(**

**Anywho...I hope you all had a delightful Monday!**

**p.s. you guys might want to actually chip in to get me a "life-alert"...my room is a _mess_**


	29. Chapter 29: Twice Trapped

**A/N: **No, this is not a joke, it's an actual update. It's been forever and I'm sorry :( This chapter is super short, but I'll have the next one up in three days tops!

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><p>Trapped. Gail was most certainly trapped. Her mother had seen her, she had seen her mother, but most critically, her mother had seen Gail see her. Now there was no escape. She only had another clip's worth of ammo left and she thanked the heavens for that. Her goal quickly became 'get the hell out, as quickly as possible.'<p>

After firing off her last round Gail went about safety checking her weapon and packing up. She had been feeling rather pleased about her time at the range and she really didn't want her mom to sour that. She zipped up her bag and, knowing there was no way of leaving without having some sort of conversation with her mother, pointed toward the door when Elaine looked up at her in question, signaling that she was going to be making her leave. Gail made her way out of firing range and into the small lobby.

She dumped her bag onto one of the chairs and threw on her coat, fishing her phone out of the pocket.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Patrick beamed up at her from the computer screen. He leaned back in his chair in order to see around the desk as he clasped his hands behind his head, splaying his bent elbows out in either direction. The underside of his arms were now on full display, a clean light pink compared to his thickly freckled face.

"Peachy." Gail shot him what she hoped was a placating smile. If she were Andy she'd probably launch into a five minute long monologue about how great it was to shoot again, how she felt energized and alive, and how it was the farthest from bored she'd been since they loaded her into the ambulance over a month ago. But Gail wasn't Andy, that's not how she operated, and hopefully, since Patrick wasn't a total dunce, he'd realize that "peachy" was not only as much as he was going to get, but that it was also a fairly positive answer. If it had gone so-so Gail probably would have, stoically but jokingly, offered to turn her badge in to him right then, and if it had gone really awful she probably wouldn't have even acknowledged him, let alone his question.

"Hey, your mom just got here not too long ago," he reported, jovially pointing over his back at the glass that looked out onto the range.

Apparently he _could _take a hint.

"I know, doofus. You put her next to me," she shot back playfully.

"I don't really _put _the Superintendent anywhere," he chuckled, denying any responsibility for Elaine's intrusion on Gail's shooting time.

Just then the door swung open and Gail's mom sauntered out, pulling out her ear plugs as she smiled at them both. "You don't have to run off now, do you?"

Gail put on a show of disappointment, "I've got my appointment in forty minutes and it's all the way across town."

"Oh no, I was hoping we could get lunch," Elaine clicked her tongue, deep in thought. "We were going to have you kids over for dinner this weekend but your father has to fill in at a workshop last minute in Niagara."

"Poor dad." Gail tried to keep the relief out of her voice.

"Next weekend then," Elaine's tone cemented her decision, "we have to celebrate."

Gail couldn't help but interpret the glee in her mother's voice as slightly maniacal.

"Celebrate _what_?" She didn't bother to filter the bite and distaste out of her voice.

"Your commendation, of course," Elaine was chipper as ever. There was nothing she loved more than a department ceremony where should parade her award winning policing family around, instantly leading Gail to roll her eyes. "And that you've _finally_ moved out of that _frat house_ you called an apartment."

Gail couldn't keep the surprise out of her eyes as they widened to near capacity. It had been _eleven_ days since she agreed to move in with Holly. _Eleven days._ This town could really not keep a secret.

"Well you don't want to be late for the doctor," Elaine reached out and rubbed up and down the side of Gail's arm.

Gail forced a smile through her shock. "Nope," she squeaked.

"Well run along then," she gave Gail's arm a final squeeze. "I'll check your schedule and kidnap you for lunch in a couple days," Elaine's smile was young and jovial as she pinched at Gail's chin.

Oh boy.

"Great, mom." It sounded anything but great, really, but Gail forced a final smiled and headed for the parking lot, completely completely confused by what had just happened.

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><p>Late that afternoon Holly toed off her shoes and hung her jacket on the peg by the door. What had started out as a fairly routine and quiet day had quickly turned stressful and worthless. The only saving grace for Holly was being sent home early. Gail's keys were on the hook so she made her way into the living room. It was almost always a good bet that that's where Gail was.<p>

"Hey," Holly leaned over the back of the sofa, placing her hands on Gail's shoulders and dropping a kiss to her cheek.

Gail almost jumped out of her skin, quickly snapping the book that was cradled in her lap shut, a notebook now trapped between it's pages. She had been so deep in thought she hadn't heard the door open or Holly walk up behind her. "What are _you _doing home?" Gail inquired quickly and sharply, twisting her neck to pin Holly back with her eyes, sharpened to a point. It was early. Too early. Holly should have been at work for another hour at least.

Holly chuckled, "ya know, Gail, most people get their porn on the internet these days," she reached over and tried to thumb through the book on Gail's lap.

"It's not _porn_," Gail declared petulantly, quickly yanking it off her lap and depositing it on the coffee table in front of her knees, out of Holly's reach. Her words carried a bite that was almost always never directed at Holly, her eyes harsher than Holly could remember.

"Wow," Holly removed her hand from Gail's shoulder and stood up, slightly stunned but mostly confused. She took a step back as she spoke, "I'm gonna get a glass of wine, because _I_ deserve it, and when I get back we can both be adults, yeah?"

Gail heard the gentle padding of Holly's sock clad feet fade down the hall.

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><p><strong>AN:** See you soon guys! I've also got a surprise(!) update to Rapidamente Peck in the works...drop me a review or some bacon :)

If you're watching with/after the Canadian airings good luck tomorrow people! I'm right there will you in spirit/tears


	30. Chapter 30: Truth

**A/N: I am so very sorry.**

**Some of you seem to think Gail has a *gasp* diary! We'll just have to see about that one...**

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><p><em>"some truths are gentle, forgiving and kind. some truths are hard to define. some truths are crooked, with rough edges too, but some truths wear like comfortable shoes.<em>

_some truths are loyal as the shadows we lead. some truths are stubborn as gravity._

_no matter what category you fit into, truth's got its sight set on you."_

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><p>"So today was shit," Holly announced as she sunk into the chair opposite the couch, kicking her feet up onto the coffee table.<p>

Gail wasn't oblivious to the fact that Holly didn't sit down next to her on the couch. She also noticed that Holly did get herself that glass of wine. It wasn't a small one either. Holly's straightened right elbow rested on the armrest, her hand hanging down, swirling the glass loosely.

Gail also noticed that Holly hadn't brought her a glass though. She figured that was fair.

Holly's other arm hung limply out at the side of chair and she sank farther and farther into the leather. Her back flattened, her butt resting on the front of the seat instead of the crux with the backrest. This wasn't how Holly usually sat. Sure, she usually exuded relaxation, even in stressful or high-strung situations, but she always maintained a level of poise that Gail often purposely threw out the window.

"What happened?" Gail brought her legs up off the floor and crossed them, tucking her chilly feet under her thighs. Holly was so flattened in her position that her chin rested on her chest and the back of the chair was making her hair a bit of a mess.

"What's the book?" Holly challenged, raising an eyebrow as she brought her glass of wine up to her lips and continued to eye Gail over the rim. She had noticed that when she came back from the kitchen the book had disappeared.

"Nothing," Gail denied, resting her elbow on the inside of one of her knees and letting the side of her head fall into the cradle of her palm. She kept her eyes locked with Holly's. "What happened today?"

Holly swallowed her sip of wine and wiggled her toes a little, pushing them against the inside of her socks. "System crashed," she answered bluntly.

"Which system?" Gail knew that the morgue, which was _really _The Forensic Services and Coroner's Complex, had many systems. There were lots of different computers running lots of different software programs hooked up to many different databases and networks, performing many different tests and searches. Gail thought a lot of the work Holly did was really cool, all the little details she could tell about someone even all that was left were their bones. The computers though; Gail was happy to let them do their thing without being provided an explanation.

"_The _system," Holly clarified before taking another sip of her wine, "our entire internal network. Some server failed or something?" Holly shrugged; the IT department seemed more worried with fixing what happened than they were with explaining it in detail, which was truly fine by her.

"Well shit," Gail's eyes grew wide. That could a _problem._ Not just for the morgue but for the police department and the courts too.

Holly nodded, "they're pretty confident that all our data will be recovered from the backups but we were literally able to do _nothing_ after lunch. We couldn't save to the network and we couldn't access any of the databases. We could barely get on the internet, it was so slow it was practically like using dial-up. So, everyone got sent home." Holly took another sip of wine. "Well, everyone but the IT guys."

"Yikes," Gail cringed.

"Yup," Holly popped the 'p' loudly.

Holly closed her eyes for a second, happy to be away from the zoo at her office.

Then she remembered.

"Hey, did you go to the range today?" She asked as soon as it popped back in her head, her voice going high and interested.

"Yeah, it was fine," Gail shrugged, picking at a piece of the couch between her crossed legs.

"Just fine?" Holly pulled her wine glass out from in front of her face. "Did your shoulder hurt?"

"No," Gail dropped her head back into her palm, "it was actually really good, until my _mother_ showed up."

Holly's eyebrows shot up at that, although, she quickly realized she had little reason to be truly surprise.

"She's going to," Gail threw up the air quotes, "'kidnap me for lunch' this week, and we have to go over to 'celebrate' next weekend, _and,_" Gail paused a moment for dramatic effect, "she knows I moved out of the 'frat house' and in with you. Your thank you note might have come in the mail today, I didn't look. Or maybe it's a condolence card," she added quickly.

Holly couldn't help but let out a bubbly laugh. She knew Gail's mom was overbearing and their relationship was tense, especially for Gail, but this was funny. She wondered how long it had taken Elaine to find out and how long she had just been holding onto it in her back pocket.

"It's not funny, _Holly_," Gail flopped herself dramatically over the couch.

"Sure it is," Holly smiled and took another sip of her wine. "So what's the book?"

"Nothing," Gail grumbled, her face flattened into the couch cushions.

Holly rose from her chair and walked over to the couch, placing her wine glass down on the coffee table before plucking the book from where Gail had stuffed it between the couch cushions and armrest.

"_Hey_," Gail practically hissed as she leapt up, snatching the book out of Holly's hands.

Holly looked at Gail wide eyed. It was clear that Gail's actions were slowly catching up with her and she was becoming uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed. Her eyes were darting all over the room and the tight grip she held on the book was tightening, as Holly watched her knuckles growing whiter by the second.

And then, just like that, she reported, "I'm hungry," and instantly she was down from where she was standing on the middle of the couch, gliding swiftly off to the kitchen.

Holly blinked three times to try and kickstart her mind, she needed to figure out what was going on and she needed to do it quickly. Only seconds after Gail was out of sight Holly heard the refrigerator door slam shut, beer bottles and condiments rattling in the door on it's pivot. Then a cabinet door shut, and then another, and then a third, all in rapid succession, kind of like gun fire, or an angry motorist well acquainted with with his car horn.

Suddenly Gail was at the door, "we have nothing, I'm going shopping," she explained as she jammed her boots on before throwing her jacket on over her shoulders.

Holly stood stock still, whiplashed, and croaked out an "okay," as Gail plucked her keys off the hook and offered a hurried "I'll be back," as she closed the door behind her.

She heard the key in the deadbolt and the lock turn, and then she heard Gail yank her key out, and then, silence. Gail always locked the door. Always. She also made sure Holly locked the door, always. She locked the door even when Holly was home and sometimes if Gail was home and Holly forgot to lock the door when she left she could hear Gail yell her name as she waited by the elevator.

Holly rubbed her hands against the back of her jeans, looking around the apartment, what for she wasn't sure. Maybe she hoped for some confirmation that what just happened actually _happened_, at best maybe something in the living room would be able to explain to her why Gail had just rocketed out of their apartment like Roadrunner.

She sat down on the couch, hands under her butt. Holly leaned back, letting her head fall to the back of the couch, and stared up at the ceiling. Gail wasn't really a _reader_ and even when she did read it wasn't like she was embarrassed by it, or cared if Holly saw what she was reading.

Finally, minutes later, Holly pulled her hands from out from under her and swiftly reached for her wine and the remote. Nothing she could really do now but wait for Gail to come home.

* * *

><p>It was an hour later when Holly heard the flapping of paper bags outside the front door, accompanied by the clicking of Gail's key's in the lock.<p>

Resigned to the fact that there was _nothing_ worth her time on television at five o'clock in the afternoon, Holly had switched to the afternoon news and put the television on mute, pulling out a journal article she could work on editing while she waited for Gail's return.

She peeled her eyes up from the page just in time to see Gail trudge through the doorway, laden down with full grocery bags and a scowl.

"It's snowing, Holly," Gail reported bitterly as she wiped her boots aggressively on the mat.

"It is?" A smile blossomed across Holly's lips at not only the news, but at the way Gail delivered it, as if the weather was an injustice against her personally.

"_Yes_," Gail confirmed that the terror was real. Her scowl hardened at the glint that shone in Holly's eyes. "It's barely November," Gail reminded Holly bitterly, gracelessly hopping out of her boots without setting the groceries down to rest.

Holly did her best to school her expression, turning her bright wide smile into a comically restrained thin line. She wasn't exactly sure why Gail was being so classic _Gail_, acting as if she had just popped out to run an errand, as if their earlier, argument? No, it wasn't really an argument or a fight. Confrontation? That sounded a little drastic but sure, a confrontation. So, Holly didn't know why Gail was acting almost as if their mini confrontation hadn't happened. Surely, the falling of some snowflakes couldn't have completely overloaded Gail's consciousness.

And then Gail was gone, her feet scurrying along the short way to the kitchen, the paper bags rustling at her sides. And Holly wasn't sure what had just happened, because Gail had left barely an hour ago and returned in a completely different state. She hadn't stormed out really, although she did exit a little bit like a tornado. No, it was definitely more like a fleeing, and Holly had sensed Gail's tone of voice carried more tension and nerves than it did anger. But what had changed? Grocery shopping wasn't exactly a religious experience, even when cheesepuffs were on sale.

Holly listened to the quiet thumps, rattles, and jingles as Gail put away her haul. The cupboards weren't slamming and the drawers weren't being shoved closed. Holly glanced toward the talking heads on the television before dropping her gaze back down to her article. She didn't even try to read it really, because she was listening. Listening to what was going on in the kitchen for a clue. Eventually Holly heard the pop of air escaping from a freshly opened bag, probably cheese puffs, she surmised.

She looked up from the page when she heard feet approaching and smiled one of those crooked smiles that conveyed a little bit of awe along with her gratitude and joy.

"For me?" Holly inquired hopefully, pulling her legs up from where they were stretched across the couch.

"You can have the chips, but the salsa is all mine."

Gail put the two bowls down on the coffee table in front of Holly who's smile had grown wider at the joke.

But Gail didn't sit down, offering a timid, "dinner might be a while," as an shy excuse for her offering of food before she turned back towards the kitchen.

"Do you want a hand?" Holly leaned forward, adjusting the papers in her lap, ready to get up and put them aside.

"No you stay, I've got it."

Holly could tell that Gail was using her 'stop I'm trying to do something nice' voice, so she relented. "Okay. What are you making?"

"Not telling."

And then Gail was completely gone, fluttered off to the kitchen.

Holly reached forward, plucking a corn chip out of the larger bowl before plunging it into the salsa. She figured she might as well try and get this article proofed while Gail was cooking.

* * *

><p>Mac and cheese. Holly was pretty sure Gail was making mac and cheese. Gail could cook. It took Holly a little longer than a while to find that out. However, Gail claimed she'd rather have other people do it for her, and it had proved to be a rare occasion. She wasn't very adventurous with the meals she prepared but she could cook, when she wanted to.<p>

One of Gail's go-to dishes was mac and cheese, and it was _good_. Holly figured it was probably because Gail added extra cheese and probably extra butter too. She was sure however, 100 percent positive, that the cheeses Gail used weren't just the regular old american and cheddar like the recipes usually called for. No, Gail's mac and cheese tasted way too good to just be a product of melted New York style extra sharp. She wouldn't tell though. No matter how Holly begged, promised doughnuts, sexual favors, choice of movies for months, Gail would not disclose her recipe. And Holly had just about given up. Maybe it was for the best though. If Holly knew the recipe she'd surely make it more than Gail did. And she'd surely weigh considerably more than she does.

So, when Gail brought out the large ramekins and placed one atop the placemat in front of Holly she was thrilled. She had been all but _sure _Gail was making mac and cheese. Holly heard the water boil and the pasta tumble into the pot. She heard the oven beep as Gail fiddled with the settings. Mostly though, mostly, Holly smelt the cheese baking away in the oven. Holly was thrilled, but not so surprised. Well, not so surprised until she noticed the breadcrumbs and sprinkled paprika in her petite casserole dish were clumped together to spell out a messy '_SORRY_.'

"_Gail_," Holly's eyes drifted up from the table as her head dropped slightly to one side.

It was that head tilt, Holly's '_oh, Gail_' head tilt that made Gail her spill her guts whether she wanted to or not.

"Look, Holly, I'm sorry that I snap-"

But that wasn't what Holly wanted, she didn't want Gail to spill her apology everywhere because _Holly _was the sorry one. So she cut Gail off.

"No, Gail, really, you have nothing to be sorry about. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was butting in, and you live here now-this is your home, and you should feel like you have your own space," Holly was in full on ramble mode, her hands were going every which way, she was moving her head from side to side, almost completely oblivious to what was happening around her, "and you should still have privacy and I'll respect that, really, and I'm really sorry I didn't before, I just didn't know it was that important."

Holly took a deep breath and finally focussed in on Gail now that her ramble had run its course.

"Really, Holly, it's fine, I don't have anything to keep from you," Gail dropped her gaze to her utensils as she picked up her forked and speared some macaroni, "I don't know why I cared," she finished with a shrug and a chomp.

Holly took that as a cue that they were done with that. She hadn't missed the pink flush that had ridden it's way up Gail's cheeks. At least for now, Gail wanted to be done with it. So Holly let it go for now, and she was fine with that. Really, she was, and it might have had something to do with the mac and cheese sitting in front of her.

Normally, when they ate together Gail sort of dove in, becoming oblivious to the world until she had finished off her entire meal, especially if she was hungry. Holly was the opposite; she was content to eat leisurely, pausing to take a sip of her wine, or you know, just breathe.

Tonight the tables were turned. It happened pretty much every time Gail made her mac and cheese. Holly would inhale it while Gail took the opportunity to sit back and observe. She even quietly switched seats at the table to see if Holly would notice. She did not.

Gail took a couple slow bites, leaning back in her chair so she could watch Holly practically lift the bowl up and dump the contents down her throat.

"Oh shut up," Holly insisted shyly as she dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin, her mac and cheese completely finished while Gail was only nearly halfway through.

Gail gave her a silent but aghast look. She hadn't said anything.

They sat quietly for a few minutes. Holly took some sips of her wine, silently willing her stomach to settle. That was the thing about Gail's mac and cheese, she devoured it, inhaled it, and always ended up feeling a little ill. Yup, a little ill but also definitely hungry for more. The internal struggle was real.

"You can ask you know."

Gail broke the silence, briefly glancing at Holly before shoving a forkful of cheese cloaked macaroni into her mouth and dropping her gaze back to her plate.

"What?" Holly's eyes snapped to Gail as she was drawn out of a long internal berating of her consumption of her dinner. She had barely registered Gail's words and was not far along to understanding at all.

"About before."

Gail half nodded, half bobbed her head, swirling her fork in the air, suggesting Holly should know exactly what she was referring to.

"I did, before," Holly reminded her after a brief pause. It came out a little quicker, a little snippier than she intended, but really Holly had jumped to defend what came across as a lack of interest, when really, she had figured it was best not to bring it up, judging by Gail's earlier reaction of fleeing their apartment.

"I said I was sorry!" Gail almost whined, also quick to defend herself, worried and pained that Holly was so quick to dismiss her need for an apology earlier but now was seemingly holding some sort of weak grudge, which was _so not _Holly's style.

"I know," Holly leaned across the table slightly, quickly placing her hand over Gail's that was resting at the edge of her placemat. Gail's hand had balled into a fist and Holly quickly but softly slipped her thumb into the tight tunnel of Gail's clenched fingers, caressing Gail's palm. "I know," she repeated, looking Gail in the eye and giving her the warmest crookedest smile she could, "...so what's the book?" Holly hoped her voice showed interest but didn't pressure.

Gail reached under the table top with her free hand, and then plopped the book from earlier next to Holly without a word.

Holly had no idea where Gail had stashed the book under her minimalist table. Maybe that's the way things are when you live with a police officer?

She looked up from the book to Gail who had returned to eating her dinner. Gail's shy avoidance disguised as disinterest encouraged Holly to look down at the book and take in the cover. '_Toronto Police Service'_ was typed front and center in bold letters above the department seal. Underneath, in smaller, less bold letters '_Sergeants Examination_' was centered. Holly's eyes wandered around the book. The binding was simple, that black plastic spiral you can buy at Staples. The cover was thick, a simple white with black lettering. The department seal was palely colored, causing it to stick out from the black words on the white page.

Holly looked up at Gail but her head was down, seemingly incredibly interested in her dinner.

Holly flipped open the first page and skimmed through the table of contents and then moved onto a random page in the middle of the book. It seemed to be part manual, part test preparation book. She wasn't really sure how to talk about this, especially since Gail wasn't really doing any _talking_. She was curious, and she cared, but Holly knew that familial precedent and expectations had colored most of Gail's professional life.

"When'd you get this?"

Holly hoped her voiced somehow conveyed her interest without sounding upset or nosey. She kept her eyes down, casually perusing the pages until Gail spoke up.

"Steve unloaded it on me at dinner the other day."

Gail looked at Holly until she finished her sip of wine, eyes and fork returning to her plate once again.

"Are you going to take the test?"

Gail really wasn't giving her much to go off of here and Holly felt forced to take a direct route instead of being silent.

Gail shrugged nonchalantly. "It's dumb. It's basically just a pay raise and a superfluous bump in rank and paperwork. It's stupid."

"It can't be completely stupid if you were taking the time to read the book."

Holly had been reading some of the questions in a practice exam in the back. It looked like it was mostly procedural questions, chain of command, proper course of action for different situations. She knew a couple of the answers from her own line of work and spending time with Gail and her friends from fifteen. A lot of them though completely escaped her. Holly guessed that Gail probably could have mustered a passing grade on this exam by the time she graduated high school, there's no way she wouldn't have passed when she graduated the academy.

"Gail Peck, you were studying," Holly's voice was light but it didn't leave room for disagreement. Gail had been found out. Even if she didn't want to admit it to herself, Holly was right on the money.

"Was not."

Gail pulled a face quickly before taking another big bite of mac and cheese.

Holly propped her elbow up on the table, resting her chin in her upturned palm. "You know, I'm a really, _really_, good study buddy," she said, smiling widely and batting her eyelashes.

"Noted," Gail acknowledged Holly's offer before turning in her chair to gesture towards the kitchen. "There's another casserole dish in there. I mean, I know how much you detest my mac and cheese but if you wanted to throw it down the ol' H. Stewart garbage disposal, be my guest."

Holly resisted the urge to jump up out of her seat. "I'm going to ignore your comment likening my mouth to a garbage disposal, and how incredibly hypocritical it is, and thank you for making extra." Holly stood with a smile, brushing her hand on Gail's shoulder on her way to the kitchen.

And then, when Holly returned, the conversation was over, left in the dust. Gail launched into a story about a man at the cheese counter who tied up the only worker when he insisted on sampling every variety and cut of parmesan excruciating slowly before deciding on his purchase. And they were on to other things and the book lay on the table, ignored by Gail.

* * *

><p>That night, as they lay in bed, Holly knew she wanted to say something, somehow their earlier conversation felt unfinished, and Gail's quick 'it's stupid' dismissal gnawed at her. There were so many questions she had and so many things she wished she'd said, things she needed Gail to know. Holly just wasn't sure how Gail would receive her words; she didn't know how best to broach the subject, especially now that her in was gone. Finally, still without much of a script or even a general plan, Holly decided that not broaching the subject was definitely the wrong way to broach it.<p>

"Gail, honey, are you awake?"

Holly crinkled her nose as she whispered her question into their quiet bedroom. It was a reflex, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. Although she wasn't wearing her glasses anymore, and the reflex was useless.

She knew Gail was still awake, she could tell from the rhythm of her breathing and the absence of her light snores. Gail moved around a lot in her sleep and she was far too still to not be awake. Holly didn't want to press though, and if Gail wanted to pretend to be off dreaming in the land of nod that was fine for tonight.

"Unfortunately," Gail's somewhat strained answer came with a shake of her head on the pillow.

Holly smiled even though Gail's back was curled into her front, meaning it would go unnoticed. She tightened her hold on Gail's middle as she dropped a kiss to a pale shoulder covered by one of Holly's old uni t-shirts.

"I just want you to know-to say, I know we don't talk about your career really. I mean, we talk about your job a lot, and what you did at work that day, but we don't talk about your career. And I know your mom has certain expectations and wants you to go down certain avenues, and so I guess, I've just never brought it up because I figured you got enough of that from her. But we should talk about it if you want to. We tell each other stuff," Holly was in trademark Stewart rambling mode now, she sort of knew it but couldn't control it. She did her best to speak clearly though, slow enough for a human to understand. "And I just want you to know how proud of you I am. It's always scared me-your job, really ever since you asked me to give you a lift home from the hospital, but I'm _so _proud of you and what you do. You're brave, and caring, and noble, and selfless, and you help people in a way I don't think I ever could, and I'm so _so_ proud of you, Gail." Holly took a moment to nuzzle her nose into the back of Gail's shoulder blade before continuing. "And that won't change if you decide you want to stay on patrol until you retire, or if you want to apply for the detective's rotation, or if you want to take the sergeant's exam. I won't love you any more, or any less for any of it, as long as it's what you want. So if you want to take the test you should, you'd do great, and if you don't want to then don't take it. But do whatever you want to do." There, she'd said it. She said it all she thought, she hoped. But she was Holly and she was a bit of a rambler so she added a bit more, just for clarification. "I just-I wanted to make sure you knew because we don't really talk about it. But it doesn't matter to me as long as you're happy. We can-if you want-talk about it-your career. But I wanted to make sure you knew that I'm already so proud, and so in awe of you, Gail." She finished with a kiss to Gail's shoulder, half wondering if her word vomit had lulled Gail to sleep.

Gail was silent for a bit. It felt like an eternity to Holly. But finally she spoke.

"Okay," she answered simply, reaching down to thread her fingers with Holly's that were draped across her stomach.

Holly had half a mind to laugh at Gail's reply. But she didn't.

"Okay," she parroted back, dropping a kiss to the exposed skin where Gail's neck met her shoulder.

"Has anyone ever told you you say a lot of words?"

Somehow Gail was able to inch farther back into Holly's embrace.

"You know," Holly pretended to ponder the question thoughtfully, "I can't say anyone has."

"Oh my _god_," Gail groaned in mock exasperation, "go to sleep Holly."

"Yes, dear."

* * *

><p><em>"some truths are gentle, forgiving and kind. some truths are hard to define. some truths are crooked, with rough edges too, but some truths wear like comfortable shoes.<em>

_some truths are loyal as the shadows we lead. some truths are stubborn as gravity._

_no matter what category you fit into, truth's got its sight set on you."  
>- South <em>Sleeping at Last

* * *

><p><strong>AN: My deepest and most honest apologies for the decades it took me to finish this chapter up. I had it all planned out and then I hated it. I must have written it three different ways and thought it out fifteen more different ways. I'm still not sure if I like it...but there's no going back now...**

**Anyways...Gail hits the streets again very soon, and she's got that ceremony coming up in a few weeks...**


	31. Chapter 31: Back to School

"Where's Diaz?!"

Frank's voice boomed from the podium, jarring just about every officer seated in front of him. The second they were buzzed through that morning they all could tell Frank was on a short fuse.

Dov spoke up tentatively, raising his pen in the air as a slight warning that he was about to brave the silence. "You gave him the week off sir, to go up home and see his mom. He's in Timmons, sir."

Frank's head dropped down while his arms gripped the edge of the podium, elbows locked out. Chloe was sitting in the front row and she would later swear that she heard him growl.

The room was silent while Frank stood up straight and rubbed at his chin, glaring down at his clipboard once more. There was a violent stomach bug making it's way around the city, and not only had three of his rostered officers called in sick, but two of his healthy officers who were present and accounted for, sitting right in front of him, weren't allowed on patrol because they had worked consecutive doubles, subbing for ill officers on other shifts, meaning they had to man booking or the front desk. To make everything just a little bit worse, Frank had forgotten that today was also Chris's first of four-straight days off. He had requested the time off nearly a month ago, filed all the correct paperwork, even reminded Frank on his way out the door the other day, but alas, Frank blanked, focussing on how to work around the flu sweeping through, and forgetting about Diaz's mini vacation.

Frank rubbed at the back of his neck, willing a solution to appear.

"Peck."

He didn't bother looking up from the list while he waited for a reply. When none came he looked at the checked out blonde and raised his hands in question, "Peck?!" He called louder this time. "You listening?"

Gail snapped her eyes shut and open again. No, would be the simple answer. She was not listening. They weren't working on any special cases for the D's today so her shift was bound to be pretty run of the mill desk work. She would likely spend a good part of her day practicing finger and pen acrobatics. She was getting quite good, actually.

"Staff?" She didn't want to sound too oblivious; Dov was looking at her expectantly from one chair over.

"Doc clear you yet? You saw him yesterday right?" Frank flipped a paper on his clipboard before looking up to make eye contact with Gail.

"Uh, yeah, paperwork hasn't gone through yet, need my PT to sign off as well."

Gail's expression was dubious. This whole paperwork game could take weeks and he had only given her the green light yesterday afternoon. Why was Frank asking her about this in front of everyone anyways? He could easily find after parade, or anytime during shift that is.

Frank sighed and rubbed at his temples, a last ditch effort at keeping an impending headache at bay. "Okay," he clicked his pen and harshly jotted down some notes as he went along, completely reshuffling the roster he had planned, "Collins in booking; McNally and Cross on desk; Epstein and Martin in 1504; Price and Hamilton in 1509; Shaw and Peck in 1514, but you two hang tight while I make a few calls," Frank pointed back and forth at Gail and Oliver with with pen, keeping an intimidating amount of eye contact while he told them not to leave the barn. "The rest of you, get to work. Serve, protect, and keep yourself off the DL."

Frank tapped his clipboard on the desk and then strode out of the parade room just as quickly as his day had gone to shit.

The crowd was slow to disperse. It might have been the fact that most of them were either working overtime or were recovering from their own illness; it also could have been the last minute reshuffle that left them slightly dazed and needing to get their bearings once again.

Oliver was quick though; Oliver was on his game.

"_Well, Peck,_" he said gleefully, swiveling a quarter turn in his chair in order to face her across the room, "your _first _shift back." He dropped his head into his propped up fist, his eyes exuding mischief, "you and me Peck,_" _he reminded her, pointing between the two of them with his notebook. "You ready?"

Andy, Chloe, Dov, and Nick slowly rose from their seats, distracted and slightly mesmerized by Oliver's small show, the way anyone is mesmerized whenever Oliver is being, well, Oliver.

Everyone recognized that familiar glint in his eyes. An amused smile played out across all of their faces despite the lack of sleep and, for Andy, the previous days spent vomiting.

Gail turned in her own chair, smiling back at him. It was one of her secretive smiles. She could be about to conspire with you, or against you, and you would never know, really. Gail could be about to suggest the two of you get Chinese for lunch, and that she was buying; she could also be about to suggest that you dunk your head in the toilet before she did it for you. You could never tell.

"Excellent," was her simple, yet open ended reply.

Suddenly Oliver was up, folding his notebook closed and pushing his chair back under the desk. "Well, we've got time till Frank cuts us loose," he announced cheerily, "what do ya say you grab us a couple coffees while I take a leak?"

Oliver was gone before she could give him any sort of answer. But then, Oliver wasn't actually asking in the first place.

* * *

><p>It was a relatively quiet day for Gail and Oliver.<p>

They took an accident report on an on ramp to the Gardiner Expressway. Snow wasn't sticking yet but the cold temperatures were creating ice slicks around the city and fender benders were a dime a dozen. No one had gotten hurt, thankfully, so mostly they were burdened with paperwork. They squeezed down on speed limits too, handing out more than a few tickets.

Mostly it was an unmemorable shift, and a couple months ago Gail might have complained of boredom. Not today though. She was glad to be out of the barn. Glad to be back out on the streets even if they were cold. She was glad to be partnered with Oliver. It was a rare occurrence nowadays with them both wrangling rookies. Gail doubted that her assignment today was a mistake but she wasn't going to complain. She'd even look past Frank babying her by having her ride with another training officer.

"Ow!" Gail was slapped out of her thoughts after Oliver nailed a particularly deep pothole with the wheel in front of the passenger's seat. "Watch where you're going old man! Do you need glasses yet?"

They were on their way back to Fifteen for the end of shift and Gail had, well Gail had spaced out. It was more tiring than she remembered, the job. It could have been the cold too.

"I was watching," Oliver stopped at a red light and shot a stern look at Gail. "You weren't listening."

"Oh," Gail couldn't stop the yawn that overtook her after she squeaked out the syllable.

"Tired, Peck?"

"_No_," she protested.

Oliver just laughed. "It takes some getting used to," he supplied, having taken his share of 'first rides back.'

"You were just boring me is all," Gail claimed quickly.

Oliver chuckled as he turned onto Parliament Street. "How did Holly take it?"

"She doesn't bore me," Gail replied quickly.

Oliver just rolled his eyes. "Celery was a little nervous when I went back on the streets. So were the girls."

Gail played with her earlobe and looked over at Oliver with one of those looks. Her eyes were big and sad and she looked nothing like snarky Gail and more like a puppy that had been denied a game of fetch. Sometimes she forgot all of the things Oliver's girls had gone through, how he'd been shot, and kidnapped just in the past few years. Especially Izzy, being the oldest, actually being able to know what was going on. Gail had never had to deal with that. Her parents were both off the streets and behind desks before she graduated kindergarten.

"Wait," Oliver flashed his eyes to Gail before he turned into the division parking lot, "you did tell her right?"

"Tell who, what?" Gail continued to tug on her earlobe while Oliver backed the squad into its spot.

"Holly, that you're off desk."

It was clear to Oliver. Those Pecks were really stunted sometimes.

"Noooo," Gail drew out the word almost as a question, her voice unsure, like she was afraid to answer incorrectly. Her eyes were fixed on Oliver, imploring him to elaborate.

He shook his head from side to side, sending a few "tsks" Gail's way as he threw the car into park and yanked the key out of the ignition.

"You always tell, Peck, you always tell."

Gail scrambled out of her seat and met him at the trunk of the car to retrieve her duffel.

"Well I didn't know," she stammered to defend herself.

Oliver just shook his head and clicked his tongue as he turned toward the building, leaving Gail to shut the trunk and skitter after him.

"My paperwork hadn't even gone through until Frank rushed it."

"You know, Peck," Oliver turned just he held the door open for her, "I got this neat little thing in my pocket. I usually use it to look up what Celery is putting in her concoctions and whatever slang the girls are throwing around, and also to play music, but you know what else it does?" Oliver paused to smile wave at Nick who processing a smelly looking subject.

While his attention was diverted Gail rolled her eyes. He was so sarcastic.

"It makes _phone calls, _Peck."

Gail followed him into the armory and went about unloading and locking her gun up while Oliver subjected her to some more sarcastic preaching.

Oliver was fond of Gail. He loved all of his rookies a little bit like surrogate children. They sure acted like children sometimes. Gail though, Gail had a special brand of sarcasm and sass that Oliver could really get behind. He could identify with her health dose of cynicism too. Underneath that though, he knew she was just a little bottled blonde softie with a heart too big to know what to do with. But _god _could Gail be interpersonally oblivious sometimes. Or maybe she wasn't oblivious, maybe she was just inept. Maybe she knew what she should do but just somehow couldn't do it, too nervous, too shy, too scorned by her mother. Whatever it was, Oliver felt it was up to him to steer her straight. He might be the only one really listen too.

Gail was jolted back to the present again when Oliver clapped her on the back of the shoulder. "Wasn't too bad though, right? First shift back out there."

"You made me buy lunch," Gail bit back, dropping in her seat to complete her paperwork for the shift. She could have more to do, but she also could have less. The paperwork that came with traffic tickets just seemed to divide and multiply and they handed out quite a few in their last couple of hours out there.

Gail was just about done with the last ticket when she got the feeling she was being watched. Without moving her head Gail raised her eyes from her notebook to look up at Oliver who was sitting at the desk across from her. He was sitting with his head propped up on his fist, a grin spread across his face that could only be described as shit eating.

"Can I help you?"

"Gotta run," he said lightly, rising up out of his chair, tapping his notebook on the flat surface of the table. "The youngest has her first basketball game of the season tonight. Can't be late." And just like that, instantaneous, his smile shifted to one of pure warmth as his gaze drifted up from Gail and focussed behind her. "Evening, Doc," he beamed with a wave.

"Hey, Oliver."

Holly's voice drifted from behind Gail and hummed its way into her ears. Her eyes snapped up to Oliver's, piercing him with an unrelenting gaze and tightly pursed lips.

"Gotta scoot, big game tonight. See ya mañana, Peck," Oliver pointed at Gail before waving to Holly, "later, Doc."

He was gone, off to the locker room, leaving Gail alone with Holly and all the guilt he had tripped her into since they left the squad car.

"Hey."

Holly's tone was light and casual, albeit somewhat tired, as she flopped onto the desk next to Gail.

"Hey-hi-uh, wha-what are you doing here?"

Gail shifted in her seat to face Holly as she shuffled her papers to the side and bit out a smile.

Holly huffed before answering. "_Fucking Steve_."

"Um _gross_."

Holly ignored Gail's comment and continued on with her explanation.

"Actually it wasn't Steve's fault, it was the prosecutor who I had to keep explaining things to again, and again. The trial's on _Thursday_."

"Well," Gail logged out of the computer and folded her notebook closed, "not everyone has the brain the size of a doublewide." Gail quickly shoved her chair under the desk, grabbed her notebook, and tossed her pen into the holder as she spoke, "I'm gonna go change-real quick," she started walking backwards towards the locker room, "and then we can go-unless you want to go now, because you probably have your car right?"

Holly could only smile as Gail tripped all over herself, literally and verbally. Was one of her shoes untied? "Gail."

"Yeah?" Gail smoothed down her front for no real reason at all.

"I already know." Holly's voice was calm, amused even.

Gail just stared back with her mouth slightly agape, still making her way slowly backward. "Know-know what? Exactly?"

"You're wearing your vest."

Gail closed her mouth

"And I brought you lunch earlier."

Just before Gail was about to utter a soft 'oh' she backed right into Chloe who was just rounding the corner out of the locker room.

"What the jellyfish?" Chloe sidestepped Gail before grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around and pushing her into the locker room hallway. "What a weirdo," Chloe decided, dropping her hands dramatically at her side. "Hey, have you seen Dov?" She redirected her attention to Holly. "He still hadn't come back in when I went to change."

Holly couldn't help but laugh at Gail's reaction. "Nope, sorry, although I just got out of a meeting a minute ago so he could have come through."

Chloe huffed and dropped herself into the chair Gail had just vacated. "What the hell was _her _deal anyways?" She scrunched her face in confusion and nodded towards the locker room while digging her phone out of her bag.

"_Busted,_" Holly said with a smirk, crossing her ankles, "why are so eager to hunt down Dov anyways?" Holly quickly changed the subject. She knew that Gail liked to keep her private life private even though her friends were mostly also her coworkers. Holly also knew that Chloe would probably be Gail's last choice to blab to.

"He's taking me out to dinner but shift ended twenty minutes ago."

"Oh, you look nice," Holly hadn't really paid any attention to what Chloe was wearing until she mentioned going out. "Somewhere nice?"

"Well, he said it was a surprise," Chloe threw air quotes up around 'surprise,' "which I really think is just code for I-haven't-figured-out-where-we're-going-yet, so we'll see."

"Look who I found trying to sneak out the back," Traci laughed and pushed Gail forward, father into the bullpen.

Gail shot Traci the sharpest of glares, "I was _not_."

"Ready to go?" Holly asked cheerily as she hopped to her feet and pulled her bag over her shoulder.

"Yup," Gail squeaked out with a smile and followed Holly down the hallway.

"How was your day?" Holly's voice was filled with mischief and that crooked smile worked it's way across her face, pulling just a bit more on left side than the right.

"So, on a scale of 'only vegetables for dinner' to 'sleeping on the couch for a fortnight' how mad are you?" Gail didn't want to beat around the bush.

Holly pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing the nerves that played out across Gail's face. "How guilty do you feel?"

"So, in my defense, I had no idea until shift started, I _swear_, and I mean, I didn't know I was supposed to tell you, I mean, I understand why I should have called, and I'm really really sorry, but I didn't exactly _know_ I was supposed to call until Oliver scolded me, and then I was going to talk to you but I wasn't sure how to go about it, and then you showed up, and Oliver left me out to hang myself, and you already knew and...yeah. Oops?"

"So pretty guilty then?" Holly turned to face Gail, raising her eyebrows in question as she pressed her back into the door, holding it open for Gail to pass through.

"Very." Gail's answer came swiftly as she pulled her coat collar higher on her neck, her cheeks already cold from the winter's evening chill.

"Is it bad that I think I'm going to enjoy this?"

"Probably for me."

* * *

><p>AN: Apologies apologies apologies apologies. Now that I'm back on the proverbial horse you shouldn't have to wait too long for another update though. There's not too much left to this story, but there are a few twists and turn up the road...

Thanks for hanging in there guys! Your encouragement is forever appreciated.


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